A New Leaf
by Jumpingbeans480
Summary: AU Kagome comes to Konoha to escape her bloodstained past. She didn't expect fall in love with someone there. Especially when that someone is a lazy, porno addicted pervert. But you can't always choose the one you love right? Kakashi/Kagome. On hiatus
1. Konoha

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, if I do, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be an emo.

Chapter 1: Konoha

* * *

Higurashi.

Who didn't hear of that clan? Everyone heard about them. The people who don't know must have lived under a rock then. The Higurashi's were a noble clan of Ninja, with a rare trait of Kekkei Genkai which helped quite a lot in their Ninja village's internal war. And it was because of the Higurashi Clan that their village managed to survive and win the internal struggle. After the war, the Higurashi's kept to themselves and did not associate with people outside of their clan often, because of a matter at hand.

It was because the people in the Land of Water didn't trust the Higurashi clan, or their powerful Kekkei Genkai. The people were afraid that one day the clan would revolt and proclaim themselves the rulers of the Land of Water. The people were afraid that the Higurashi clan might start another internal war.

And the Mizukage at that time was a cowardly man who constantly feared for his position and his life. He actually believed that the Higurashi clan were trying to overthrow him, which wasn't true at that time. So he ordered the Higurashi clan to live in seclusion and he didn't want them to associate with the outside world. This angered the members, and their clan head, out of spite, secretly plotted a rebellion. He didn't think that this Mizukage was worthy enough to rule them.

The Higurashi had served him loyally in the wars and this was how he repaid them? By imprisoning them against their will so that he could keep his job, or his life?

The clan head plotted against the Mizukage, and he finally came up with a plan. His only daughter was a prodigy in their clan. Their Kekkei Genkai runs strongly in her blood. The Higurashi clan Kekkei Genkai was their affinity for the elements.

But strangely, the Higurashi members could not control lightning, for reasons unknown. The clan members with this Kekkei Genkai would be able to master and control high levelled elemental Jutsu, and they would have no 'secondary' element affiliation, they could have a few 'main' element affiliations. The members of the clan could even combine the elements to form others, like perhaps lava, or ice. And so far, there was only one person in the entire clan history who could control three elements.

But the clan head's daughter, she had an affinity for four. Obviously, she still could not use lighting, but she could form the ice element and even the rare wood element. She had inherited her mother's great priestess abilities, and she had been trained in the Ninja ways ever since she learned how to walk because they were still at war at that time.

She would be the perfect mole.

The Higurashi clan head could offer her to the Mizukage as a sign of peace, and the Mizukage would not decline such a talented Kunoichi to serve under him. His daughter could spy on the Mizukage this way and she could report to her father, and the information she gave them could be of great importance to their rebellion.

This was a dangerous job, and don't be mistaken, the clan head loved his daughter very much. But he knew the extent of her capabilities, and he knew that she would be just fine.

So, on her 8th birthday, he sent her to the Mizukage, who favoured her abilities immediately. The clan head was pleased that his plan was going well, but after a while, his daughter had a change of attitude and she grew more mysterious, more distant, which puzzled him. But he shrugged it off, thinking that it was just stress.

But what he did not know changed the fate of the Higurashi clan forever…

* * *

The whole of the Higurashi clan was slaughtered by his daughter in the middle of the night, a few days after his youngest son turned 4.

Higurashi Kagome.

His daughter.

People had said that she finally snapped, because of all the pressure she received from everyone as a prodigy of the clan. That was why she killed the clan, they said. She slaughtered her friends, and even her family the way the butcher slaughtered pigs, and there was so much blood shed that night that people had described that it looked like it had actually rained tears of blood. She was only 10 at that time, and yet she had killed enough to last a person a lifetime.

After the Higurashi massacre, she mysteriously disappeared, and was hardly seen or heard of ever since.

She killed a lot of people that day, except one. She spared the life of her little brother, and no one knew why. She let him live, while she killed everyone else. People said that her brother was lucky enough to survive the slaughter. But in truth, he was scarred greatly, both mentally and emotionally on that night. He witnessed his beloved elder sister kill both of their parents, and now hatred bubbled inside of him.

He thirsted for revenge.

* * *

After the slaughter, Higurashi Kagome all but disappeared from everybody's lives.

She lived her life in seclusion, as a member of the reclusive Akatsuki. She had heard the news about the Akatsuki from her travels all over the Five Great Ninja Nations and she wondered if that organization really existed. So she had searched and joined them a few months after she left the Land of Water because she was worried about the ambitions that the members and their leader had. She only gave them the name 'Kage' and demonstrated her abilities to them.

They had let her join, and Pein didn't ask any questions concerning her background, much to Kagome's immense relief.

Although Kagome may have joined the Akatsuki, but, she joined them in the guise of a male. She didn't exactly trust them enough to reveal her true gender or her real name, and she didn't plan on ever telling them. Kagome was 10 years old at the time for god's sake. And even Konan, the other female member, was already in her early 20s. So naturally Kagome didn't trust some of the other male members to keep their hands to themselves that much.

Especially when the Akatsuki had a person like Orochimaru as their member.

So to protect herself from a bunch of S-class criminals, Kagome joined them as a male. She wore a mask to hide her feminine features, and she even wrapped uncomfortable bindings around her chest. But fortunately, those bindings did not hinder her chest growth. Kagome kept her waist long hair tied up and concealed within her bamboo hat, which she rarely took off her bamboo hat; and even when she battled, she tried hard to keep it on.

Kagome cross dressed too, wearing baggy male clothes that concealed her feminine figure, and she even disguised the tone of her voice, making it sound deeper, more masculine sounding. And that was how she fooled everyone into thinking that she was a male.

Soon Kagome had already spent 9 years in the Akatsuki, and when she turned 19; that was the time first time she met Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi had joined the Akatsuki soon after he slaughtered the Uchiha clan, also sparing the life of his little brother. Kagome noticed the façade he had almost immediately, and she tried her hardest to reach out to him, to befriend him. Itachi gradually let her in his heart without realizing it, and soon Kagome got to know him better.

She realized that he was similar to her in so many ways.

He was a prodigy of his time; there was an old conflict with his clan and his home, Konoha. He was a spy for his clan, he was a double-agent and he was also ordered to exterminate his clan as well. He spared his little brother's life, and lastly, he had secrets that he did not want to tell his brother.

Kagome bonded with him and she trusted him with her life; so much that she even told him of her true gender.

She treated him as if he was her own elder brother, and she loved him as an elder brother. Naturally, her feelings were reciprocated and Itachi had also treated her like a younger sister, the younger sister that he wanted but didn't have. He kept the matter of Kagome's true gender a secret, and he did not tell anyone.

Although, Tobi still did manage to find out that she was a woman.

_Flashback:_

_Kagome entered her room tiredly and she kicked the door shut. She smiled slightly when she heard the pleasant 'bang' that the door had made when it slammed close. Then, she headed over to her closet and selected a new outfit for her to change into. She began undressing and her gaze was focused on her reflection in the mirror. Her blue eyes were slightly cloudy as she examined herself. It had been a long time since Kagome had actually had a good look of herself in a mirror. _

_It was right to say that Kagome had never looked in a mirror for a few years. She couldn't put on makeup, since it would melt behind her mask because of the heat. And Kagome would only use a mirror quickly, so she didn't actually have the time to examine how she looked._

_But now she could see how different she looked, compared to how she looked the time when she slaughtered her clan._

_Kagome had grown taller, that was for sure. She had also lost the baby fat around her face, making it look slim and her raven coloured hair reached until her waist. Her legs were long and her skin was a nice peachy colour. The colour of her eyes had changed slightly; it now was a misty blue in colour. She had a feminine figure, with reasonably sized breasts, and she dared to say that she looked slender, almost graceful. Kagome had actually found it hard to believe that the raven haired beauty staring back at her from the mirror was her self._

_She looked almost… beautiful._

_Kagome was cut off from her thoughts when the door suddenly opened again and in stepped an enthusiastic Tobi, dragging a mildly annoyed looking Itachi. 'Damn it! I had forgotten to lock the door,' Kagome inwardly thought with a curse. _

_"Kage-san! Itachi-san said that I couldn't join the Akatsuki! But Orochimaru-san has left already! So why can't I—?!" Tobi froze in mid sentence as he stared at Kagome. _

_Itachi squinted his eyes at her for one second, trying to make out what was standing in front of him. When he realized it was Kagome, he frowned in confusion when he noticed that Kagome was wearing a strange colour. 'What is she wearing?' Itachi thought to himself and he concentrated harder. It was not long before he realized that Kagome was wearing NOTHING. He froze and quickly looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks. _

_He even cleared his throat uncomfortably "Tobi, I believe we should leave."_

_Kagome found her face heating up and she instinctively covered her cleavage. __She bit down on her lip to prevent herself from screaming, it would not be good if her scream alerted the other members and caused them to come here. Tobi did not listen to Itachi and he instead continued to stare at her with hearts in his eyes and Kagome found herself shrinking away from his stare. _

_But she felt anger bubbling inside of her when Tobi whistled "Wow. Kage-san! So you're actually a woman! And you look hot!"_

_Kagome grabbed her Akatsuki cloak and used it to cover herself, then she quickly grabbed her weapons pouch and aimed a barrage of Shuriken at Tobi. She was seething with rage and she hissed in a deadly tone "Get your ass out Tobi!! Now!!"_

_Unfortunately, Tobi managed to evade her attacks, and he left her room, laughing merrily._

_End Flashback:_

Although that ordeal was over, Kagome and Itachi had to threaten Tobi to not tell anyone about her gender or she would have purified his immortal ass into oblivion. Tobi, fearing for his immortal life, readily agreed.

As the saying goes, '_Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned_'.

* * *

Life in the Akatsuki was tiring, and harsh.

The members were always being hunted by the Ninja Villages all across the Five Great Ninja Nations, especially the Ninja Village from the Land of Fire, Konohagakure no Sato. But thankfully, Kagome had Itachi as her partner, so life wasn't that bad.

And Itachi treated Kagome differently from other people.

When Itachi was around Kagome, he would act himself, the extremely kind hearted and gentle man who had the weight of the world on his shoulders. But in front of other people, Itachi would maintain his cold façade and treat them with reserved politeness. Kagome didn't really mind his change of character. They were always travelling alone most of the time, and the only times when they would meet the other members would be at that King of Hell Statue that Pein summoned.

Kagome and Itachi talked to each other a lot, and when one person talked, the other would patiently listen.

Kagome didn't really understand why people said that Itachi was a cold hearted murderer, an evil man. Kagome didn't find him evil, not at all. He was one of the kindest people that she had met in her life, and Kagome could sense the good intentions in his soul.

And once, Itachi had told her that he joined the Akatsuki because he wanted to keep an eye on the organization in case they wanted to harm Konoha.

Even up till now, he was loyal to Konoha. Kagome couldn't help but wonder why when they made him kill his family, not taking his feelings into consideration. Kagome joined the organization not because she wanted to protect her Ninja village, but because she was afraid of their intentions of total world domination. Like Itachi, she hated war, and that was the reason why she agreed to kill her clan in the first place.

She spared her little brother because he was oblivious to the clan's motives. He had been too young at that time to know anything while the rest of the clan knew and supported the rebellion. Kagome didn't really like to kill innocent people, especially if it was her cute younger brother.

Itachi's loyalty must have been possessing that 'Will of Fire' he had told her about.

And after being in the Akatsuki for over 15 years, Kagome was slowly starting to be eaten from the inside with her guilt from all the killings she had made. Usually, Itachi would have comforted her and talked to her to make her feel better, to make her know that there was someone who cared about her, but recently, Pein had ordered her to go solo while he teamed Itachi up with Hoshigaki Kisame. Kagome had refused and protested to this decision, but what Pein said was final, since he was the leader and all.

'Kage' of the infamous Akatsuki was quite well known, and Kagome had to agree that that nickname suited her quite well, because no one knew what she looked like and she seemed to disappear in the shadows every time she made a kill.

Kage was in the bingo book and was wanted for killing hundreds of people.

And still, people thought that Kage was a man since Kagome had never actually let loose of the information that she was a woman. In fact, people were rather biased against women. They thought that Kage was a man because it never actually occurred to them that women could be just as strong as men. Kagome, Konan and Tsunade were good examples of strong women.

Kagome absolutely hated killing people though, despite Kage's bloodstained history.

And even Itachi could see that this type of life wasn't suited for Kagome. Because each time she killed someone, a little of her was destroyed. And if the killings continued, Kagome was sure to go insane. Her life was no different from that of an ANBU member. Although, there was one person that Kagome had killed that she had felt no remorse for. In fact, she thought that he rather deserved it.

And that person was the Yondaime **Kaze**kage. (AN: Not **Ho**kage! As if I would let her kill Minato-sama. I'm a big fan of his! XD)

Kagome had killed him when she was around 25. She owed Orochimaru a favour during his time in the Akatsuki, and when she learned more about the Yondaime Kazekage, about how he had sealed the Shukaku into his son in a dangerous manner and how he tried to kill his son when things weren't going according to plan, Kagome grew angry and offered her assistance to Orochimaru herself.

Orochimaru had let her repay him back the favour, seeing as the attempt to killing the Kazekage was more difficult than it seemed. And Kagome felt no guilt weighing her down when she dealt the finishing blow that ended his miserable.

She just thought in her mind '_One less cruel hearted asshole in this world._'

And sometime in the future, Kagome had met and teamed up with Itachi again because Pein had ordered them to hunt down and kill a Missing Ninja to collect the bounty. But sadly, their partnership was for this mission only. And after she found and killed the Ninja, Itachi had told her that he could not stand her throwing away her soul like this anymore. "You are too pure to be corrupted by this anymore," was what he had told her.

So Itachi had helped Kagome to fake her own death; it had been the only way for Kagome to be free of the Akatsuki.

The others would have certainly not agreed to her leaving, because of the loss of a powerful member. Kagome was a trump card to them; she was almost as strong as or maybe even stronger than Pein even though he had his Rinnegan.

Kagome supposedly 'died' by chakra exhaustion, and to make it believable, Itachi had performed the ultimate Genjutsu on them.

Although it was hazardous to his already decreasing eyesight, he told Kagome that he didn't mind. Then he told her to flee to a village, Konohagakure no Sato, his past home. He had told her that she would be safe there; Konoha would be good for her and she could start her new life there without many problems.

Kagome was now standing outside the massive gates of Konoha, and she looked at them in awe.

Konohagakure was so much bigger, brighter and happier compared to Kirigakure, where the after-effects of the internal war were still present. The people looked happy and content, and there was no fear among them. Kagome found herself smiling slightly; Itachi was right, Konoha was good for her.

She walked towards the stand near the gates, where two Chunin were sitting at.

"Excuse me," she asked in a polite tone. The two Chunin looked up from their work and stared at her, and when Kagome said stared, she meant that they looked like they were gawking at her. She distinctively saw one of the Chunin's eyes grow slightly wider.

"Umm… how can I help you Miss?" the Chunin with a bandaged nose replied uncertainly.

"I'm new to Konoha, and I wanted to stay here, you know, I wanted to become a permanent resident here. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do and what papers I'm supposed to fill in. So could you please tell me?" she asked, looking at them both in the eyes and smiling nervously.

The two Chunin looked at each other and nodded "Sure," they both said.

The other Chunin nodded and then replied "Well, you should make your way to the Hokage's tower and tell the receptionist what you wanted, then she will give you a form you need to fill out. Then you have to wait and see whether the Hokage will approve of you staying in Konoha."

Kagome smiled gratefully at the two "Thank you," she told them before she made her way into the village.

As she got farther, she managed to hear one of the Chunin shout out "And if you're looking for the Hokage tower, just make your way towards the Hokage Monument! It's the big building that has the word 'Fire' for a signboard and it's in front of the Hokage Monument! You can't miss it!"

Kagome turned around and nodded, before waving goodbye to the two of them.

Kagome heaved a huge sigh of relief as she made her way through the busy streets. She had succeeded in lowering her chakra signal, making it look like she had no Ninja training whatsoever. Luckily it had worked and those two Chunin were none the wiser. And since she had managed to fool two Chunins she might even fool the Hokage, wait, that had been too ambitious. Those Chunins were nothing when compared to the Hokage. And what if the Hokage found out that she was a Ninja?

What would Kagome do then?

If the Hokage ordered her to be captured and questioned, Kagome wasn't so sure that she could take on so many Ninja at one go. She knew she would lose the fight for sure. So what was she supposed to do? Kagome silently panicked as she walked, her head facing down.

She didn't notice until it was too late and she bumped into someone, causing her to fall to the ground while he dropped his book.

"Itai…" Kagome muttered to herself as she rubbed her sore butt. That guy she bumped into, what was he, a rock or something? His chest was rock hard. But it was her fault for not watching her steps and bumping into him.

Kagome looked up, ready to apologize when she found her voice caught in her throat.

The man she had bumped into was rather tall, Kagome guessed she only reached until his chest, and he was also well muscled. He had spiky silver hair and wore a mask covered ¾ of his face. His Konoha Hitae-ate was tilted in an unusual way, covering his left eye.

And by the looks of his uniform, he was a Jounin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was going. Here, let me help you," he told her in a deep but sexy voice. Then he extended his hand to her. It took Kagome a moment to register what he was doing and she quickly held on to his hand and pulled her up with ease.

Kagome felt some static when she touched him and the static was gone as soon as he let go of her hand.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't see where _I_ was going," she said with emphasis, but he retorted "No, it was my fault. I was reading my book," and he pointed to the orange covered book that was currently lying innocently in the dirt.

Kagome was getting annoyed at this Ninja.

Jounin or not, she was accepting that it was her fault already, so why the heck was he still insisting that it was his fault? Couldn't he just agree with her already? She bent down and retrieved his book, and then she handed it back to the Jounin by shoving it into his chest. The Jounin looked at her with one onyx eye slightly wide with surprise. Kagome looked at him and said, the annoyance showing "Look, I said that it was my fault already. So why don't you just accept it?" before she could stop herself.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise and she started to blush; looks like her temper had got the best of her again.

She looked away from the Jounin, but she froze when she heard a slight chuckle coming from the Jounin. She looked at him, ready to glare, but she stopped herself when she saw that he had stopped laughing and was instead creasing his eye at her.

"Well okay, if you insist. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around then," he told her.

Then he gave opened his book and found his bookmarked page. He gave her a cheerful wave before he started to walk away. Kagome lost sight of him as he disappeared in the crowds, and she found herself sighing in disappointment as she walked towards the Hokage Tower.

The mysterious Jounin didn't even tell her his name…

End Chapter

* * *

Jumpingbeans480: How was the reedited version? Did it suck? Was it better or worse than the original version? Please review!


	2. Fast Friends

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 2: Fast Friends

* * *

Kagome soon reached and entered the Hokage Tower. She made her way to the front desk, where she could see that there was a receptionist was busy filing paperwork. But the receptionist was surprisingly, a male, and he had short brown hair as well as a nasty scar on the left side of his face. But he seemed to have this gentle temperament about him that Kagome couldn't place.

As she approached him, he looked up and from his paperwork and asked Kagome in a friendly tone "Yes? May I help you?"

Kagome nodded and she told Raidou "I wish to stay in Konoha as a permanent resident. And those two Ninja at the gate told me to come here and speak with you about it um…" Kagome's voice trailed off suggestively and Raidou smiled. "Namiashi Raidou," he told her.

"So Namiashi-san, what do I have to do?" she asked him.

Raidou searched through a file cabinet and pulled out a file. Then he opened the file and handed her a piece of paper from the file. "Fill these out now, and then make sure to give it back to me. These papers will be given to the Hokage for inspection. After that it's up to the Hokage to decide about you staying her permanently." Then Raidou handed her a pen and Kagome went over to the corner, her eyes scanning the slip of paper. She found herself frowning as she read the first thing that she needed to fill out; her name. What was her name going to be now?

She couldn't be Higurashi Kagome; that was for sure.

The Hokage was smart enough to put the two and two together and figure out that she was the one who slaughtered the Higurashi clan. Her surname gave her away. So Kagome filled her name with the first thing that she could come up with. She was now Takahashi Kagome. Kagome filled out her age; 28, which country she came from; she used Water Country, and the other sections she was relatively honest with. But she paused and considered her answer to the last question, why did she come to Konoha.

Kagome tapped the pen on the paper impatiently as she thought of her answer. A triumphant smile lit on her face as she thought of her answer. She wrote '_I came to Konoha because I wanted a change of scenery. I wanted to start a new life here, turn over a new '_Leaf_' here, if you will refer to it,_' and she frowned at her own bad pun.

But nevertheless, she handed in her form back to Raidou.

And Raidou couldn't help but wonder what he was supposed to do with the slip of paper now. He knew that it would take him less that five minutes to get from here to the Hokage's office, but he also knew that he couldn't leave his job. He could just teleport into the Hokage's office, but he knew that Tsunade didn't really like that type of entry. She would give him hell for it. As Raidou pondered on what to do, a smile lit on his scarred face as he spotted a familiar friend walking by.

"Genma, come over here for a second, will you?" he called out.

Genma stopped in his tracks and made his way towards Raidou, a calm look on his face. Kagome couldn't help but stare at the strangely clothed but good looking man. He wore the uniform of a special Jounin, and his Hitae-ate was tattooed on to a bandana, which was facing backwards. And he was also sucking on something, was that a senbon?

"What is it Raidou?" he asked his friend.

"You going to see Tsunade-sama, aren't you?" Raidou replied and Genma nodded. "Yeah what about it? And you of all people should know that if I don't get my ass there soon she's going to blow her head off and I might probably land in the hospital again," he muttered sourly. Raidou smiled nervously "Right… Hey Genma I need a favour. Would you mind handing this over to Tsunade-sama for me while you see her? I would give this to her myself but I can't exactly leave my shift," he said and he handed the slip of paper to Genma.

Genma took the paper and his eyes couldn't help but scan it. "Hmm…" he muttered "A person wants to have permission to stay in Konoha huh…? …Takahashi Kagome…" And his eyes zoned in on Kagome who was also standing at the counter. He blinked once, then twice.

Damn, she was a real beauty.

Genma smiled coyly at her and said "Hi, I'm Shiranui Genma. It's a pleasure to meet you Takahashi-san. I would love to stay and chat but I have a Hokage to meet who is probably going to kick my ass right about now for being late," he told them and he went off.

But after taking a few steps, Genma stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Oh I just remembered. And Raidou you owe me a couple of beers for this later," he added, smiling devilishly at his friend and he indicated to the piece of paper he was holding. Raidou sighed deeply but nodded nonetheless, a sour look on his face.

Once Genma was sure that Raidou wasn't bluffing, he went on his merry way with the paper dangling in his hand.

Raidou turned to Kagome. "You should wait here for a while. The Hokage is usually very busy with other matters, but because this paper concerns staying in Konoha, Tsunade-sama will look at it first before she resumes her work, at least I think," he told her.

Kagome nodded "Thanks Namiashi-san," she told him and she went over to one of the benches, taking a seat.

About half an hour passed before Genma returned, and this time he headed over to where Kagome was. "Tsunade-sama would like to see you. It's mandatory for every person that wants to permanently stay in Konoha. Follow me," he told her kindly.

Kagome stood up and she followed Genma through the corridors.

Soon, they reached a door and Genma motioned for her to wait for a while. Then he knocked on the door and Kagome heard someone shout "Come in," in a stern voice. Genma then opened the door and Kagome stepped inside. Genma followed after her and closed the door. He stood by the corner and Kagome made her way to the Hokage. Kagome looked around the room first, and her eyes landed on the pictures of the former Hokages of Konoha.

She paused briefly at the picture of the Yondaime Hokage. He had a serious look on his face and he was unsmiling. But Kagome had to admit, he looked quite handsome with his golden blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. It was rare to see someone with blonde hair around here. And Itachi had told Kagome all about Konoha's History before she came here.

So she aware of what the Yondaime had done; he had given up his life to seal the Kyuubi no Youko into a child.

Then her attention shifted back to the Hokage, who was seated at her table, stamping some important documents. She couldn't help but stare as she looked at the Hokage. Tsunade, in Kagome's opinion, was a very beautiful woman. And she was like what, over 50 now? And not to mention, the size of her breasts was just…wow…

Most women would have severe backaches with a chest that size.

Tsunade looked at Kagome with her honey coloured eyes, as if she was trying to figure Kagome out. The slip of paper that Kagome had filled out was in her hands, and Tsunade read out "Takahashi… Kagome am I right?" she asked. Kagome nodded and Tsunade continued on "So you wish to stay in Konoha. May I ask why?"

"I already wrote it down there," she indicated to the paper.

"But if you want a more detailed explanation, Water Country didn't really suit my tastes anymore. The life there was quite harsh for me, you know, especially since the effects of the internal war were still at the village I was at. I lost all of my family members in the war, and staying there became quite hard for me. My village was still impoverished and the people were starving. And there were many scars there that reminded me of what I had lost," Kagome said slowly, trying to make it sound convincing.

Tsunade nodded "Very well then. I shall approve of your request."

Kagome smiled gratefully "Thank you Tsunade-sama." The Hokage allowed a small smile to light on her face. "No need to thank me. Although I have approved, the rest is up to you. You must find a new job here, and also a place to stay. Do you have money?" she asked.

"I saved up for this journey. So I think I have enough for rent," Kagome replied.

Tsunade turned to Genma and asked "Genma, you have got time on your hands now right?" And the senbon sucking special Jounin nodded. Tsunade continued "Then would you kindly show Takahashi-san the way to where Naruto's apartment is? I think the landlord there has got an apartment for rent?"

Genma nodded "I understand Hokage-sama," then he motioned for Kagome to follow after him.

Kagome gave Tsunade a respectful nod before she excused herself and followed after Genma. They exited the Hokage Tower and Genma lead Kagome down the busy streets. Genma slowed down his pace so Kagome could keep up with him, and he took a look at her, asking "Takahashi-san, do you need me to help you carry that?" and he motioned for the backpack that Kagome had. She smiled and shook her head "Thank for the offer, but I think I can manage."

They soon arrived in a big looking apartment complex, and Kagome followed Genma up the stairs. He knocked on the door of the landlord and waited as the door opened. A middle aged man answered the door and looked at Genma and Kagome "Yeah? What it is?" he asked.

Genma explained to the landlord and when he was done, the landlord got a good look at Kagome. "I have an empty apartment just on the right of the stairs on the top floor. Can you afford the rent?" Then he told Kagome the sum. Kagome pondered for a while, before she nodded. "Yes, I can afford it." And she swung her backpack on the floor, pulling out her wallet. Thank god she had the tact to save up her money in case of emergency purposes over the years, and not to mention Itachi had given her some of his money.

She handed the exact amount to the landlord, who smiled at the money. Then he went back in to his house for a moment, and when he came back, he handed Kagome the keys. "The apartment is a little dusty because no one lived there for a long time. So tell me if there's anything in there that needs to be repaired."

Kagome nodded the she bid the landlord goodbye. Then she and Genma made their way to the top floor.

As she unlocked the door, she flashed a grateful smile at Genma. "Thank you so much for your help today, Shiranui-san," she told him. Genma smiled slightly and replied "Call me Genma. And I hope to see you again Takahashi-san, you know, for lunch maybe sometime in the future?" he asked hopefully.

Kagome smiled "All right, I would like that Genma-san. But I have to find a job first. And please, call me Kagome."

He smiled slightly "I guess I'll see you around then, Kagome-san," and he waved to her goodbye, before he left in a swirl of wind and leaves. Kagome supposed that he had other plans to attend to; maybe to go and pester Raidou to treat him those beers now.

She entered her apartment and closed the door.

Then she took a good look around. Boy the landlord had been right, the apartment was rather dusty. But Kagome couldn't clean up now, she had no tools, she needed to buy them. But maybe she could borrow those tools from her next door neighbour first? That would save her money and time.

Kagome opened her door again and went next door, knocking on the door.

There was some shuffling and the door opened, revealing a golden blonde haired boy clad in a white T-shirt and a pair of boxers. He had a cup of ramen in his hands and he seemed surprised at Kagome. "What do you want?" he asked. Kagome froze for a moment, because of two things. The blonde boy had a striking resemblance to the Yondaime Hokage. And not to mention, even their eye colour was the same. The other thing that made he surprised was that that boy had a demon sealed inside of him.

He was a Jinchuuriki.

And Kagome knew well enough that the demon inside of him was the Kyuubi no Youko. So this was the child that the Yondaime had used to seal the Kyuubi inside of? The gears in Kagome's head clicked and she pieced together the facts. This boy…he was related to the Yondaime in some way, was he his son or something?

But Kagome snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that she had been zoning out.

She smiled at him and replied "I'm Takahashi Kagome, and I just moved in next door. I was wondering if I could borrow some cleaning materials. The apartment is really dusty and I'm afraid I don't have cleaning materials." The blonde blinked and then smiled.

He told her in an excited tone "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!! Wow, you're my neighbour? No one ever lived in that apartment beside me! And sure I'll lend you my stuff!"

Then he disappeared in his house, reappearing with a broom, a mop and other stuff. He handed it to Kagome, who smiled gratefully. "Thank you Uzumaki-san," she told him. Naruto waved her off and said "Call me Naruto! Ne, Kagome-chan, do you need any help with your cleaning?"

"I don't want to trouble you…" she began, but Naruto smiled. "It's all right! I got a lot of time on my hands, and I can really be of help! Just let me get changed first!" Kagome patiently waited outside as Naruto changed. He appeared a minute later in an orange and black jumpsuit. Then Kagome led him into her house, and Naruto sneezed when he entered. "Boy, you're right, your apartment really is pretty dusty," he told her and Kagome nodded.

"Kagome-chan, this should be over pretty quickly!" he told her excitedly "Watch this!"

Then he made a hand seal and yelled "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" There was a puff of smoke and Kagome stared in wonder as there was now a lot of Kage Bunshin in her room. Naruto could use Kage Bunshin to this extent? He really must have a lot of chakra.

All the Kage Bunshin yelled "Yosh! Let's do it!"

Then they all started to clean up the apartment. Kagome and Naruto stared as all his Kage Bunshin did all the work. Kagome didn't even have anything to do! She looked at a smiling Naruto and smiled gratefully "Thank you so much Naruto. How about I treat you to lunch after this?"

Naruto's blue eyes lit up. "Can I have ramen?" he screamed.

Kagome nodded and Naruto punched his fists into the air happily as he cheered and thanked her profusely. Kagome smiled at his exuberance for ramen and she couldn't help but think that this was going to be the start of a great friendship.

End Chapter

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Thank you hermonine, Kon Bubble Blaster, Lovelywitch, ayashi77, BlondeKell, Aashni, Reads-way-2-much, iheartanime43. LeafeKnight7, Rinda-chan, cowgirlkitten2000, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, TearsOfMidnight, Hells Twilight, kakashixangela, Eriklover101, mia1837, crazy guard girl, Jacob's Reneesme and Aoka Rosetta for reviewing!

Told you it would be slightly different. And if you fans of the old 'A New Leaf' were wondering, Itachi's age is still 29 in this story.

But for you first time readers, I'll explain. I want to change Itachi's age for this story, making him older so he can fulfil that 'older' brother role to Kagome. And since I don't want Kagome to be like 10 years younger than Kakashi or something, so the best choice would be to change Itachi's age a little.

And also, it makes more sense to me if Itachi murdered his clan when he was like 21 or something. Cause he certainly didn't look 13 when he killed everyone.

Please review!


	3. The Second Encounter

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 3: The Second Encounter

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Two weeks had passed since Kagome moved into Konoha.

Sadly, she didn't meet that mysterious Jounin again since their first encounter even though much time had passed. Kagome had wondered why she didn't meet him again since he was a Ninja of Konoha, so she finally settled that he was on a mission, so she didn't have the opportunity to see him yet.

But the good thing was; she had managed to find a job on the second day that she came here; she now worked at the Konoha Hospital and her boss was none other than the Godaime Hokage Tsunade herself. But since she Tsunade was busy doing her job as the Hokage most of the time, she left her two apprentices in charge of the hospital; Shizune and Haruno Sakura. Now since Kagome was usually a nice person once you looked past her temper, she was naturally on good terms with everyone at the hospital.

Although she could sense some jealousy the other women emitted from their auras; all except for Shizune and Sakura. So Kagome got along especially well with the two of them.

But why were the other women jealous? Because everyday for work, Kagome would have to wear a white long sleeved button shirt complete with a black skirt that reached to her mid thighs, and there was even a white doctor's coat to go with her outfit. Needless to say, Kagome looked extremely sexy.

Her outfit made her look like a character straight out from Icha Icha.

And everyday, she would sense that there were always eyes following after her everywhere she went. She could guess that all those eyes belonged to the male nurses and the male patients of the hospital. And strangely, it seemed that ever since Kagome started working at Konoha Hospital, more and more males 'injure' themselves and come to the hospital, always requesting for Kagome to treat them.

And that was why the all the women there were jealous.

But Shizune and Sakura were different from the other women and they didn't care much about how Kagome dressed like unless she did her job, so that was why Kagome got on with them. Shizune was really dedicated to her job so she didn't really have time for dolling herself up and searching for her boyfriend. And Sakura was really into her job of being a Medic Ninja, so she didn't really bother with boys.

But she still had a lot to learn if she wanted to be as great a medical Ninja as Tsunade. Kagome would teach Sakura anything the Kunoichi didn't understand, and that was rare. Sakura was an intelligent and bright young girl.

So Kagome was rather surprised when she learned that a girl like Sakura knew a guy like Naruto, and that they were both from the same Genin team.

Kagome was working as an ordinary doctor at the hospital there and her job was to treat of patients such as injured civilians and injured Ninja that required some medical attention. She had a wide range of medical knowledge, since it was mandatory for priestesses such as herself to learn about medicine and herbs to treat the sick and wounded. And Kagome also learned medicine another way.

Because she had to gain the Mizukage's trust, she had to be sent on dangerous missions, so it was safe to know some things about medicine or two.

But Kagome couldn't exactly heal people with her chakra or her priestess powers unless she wanted to be discovered, so for now she would have to act like an ordinary doctor. But Kagome promised herself that if the hospital would ever to have a dying patient that nobody but her could save, then she would risk her identity and heal that person. But for now, she would just do her best.

Life was always hectic at the hospital, and when Kagome wasn't working; she was hanging out with Naruto and Sakura.

She really liked the blonde Ninja. In a way, Naruto reminded her of her little brother, Souta. They both had that stubborn never say die attitude. And not to mention, Naruto was like a ball of sunshine, always making her day seem brighter. She also liked Sakura.

The pink haired medic was a really nice girl, although Kagome believed that she had to work on her temper more.

* * *

Today was Naruto's birthday.

And he told Kagome that all his friends were celebrating it for him. They were going to treat him to ramen and Naruto had wanted Kagome to come along. She was hesitant at first, but after a while she agreed to go because Naruto had been pestering for her for days and he had even used a pouty face on her. He wanted her to meet the rest of his friends.

Kagome and Naruto went to Ichiraku Ramen house together and they patiently waited for his friends to turn up.

After a while, a team of three Genin and their Jounin sensei arrived. Their sensei had black shades on and Kagome couldn't see his eyes. He was a special Jounin by the looks of his uniform. There was a brown haired boy who had a blue scarf wrapped around his neck. The only female of their team was a girl who had orange hair that stuck up. There were also red circles on her cheeks, making it look like she wore bad make up. And the last was a boy who constantly had snot hanging out of his nose.

"Naruto-nii-chan! Happy Birthday!" greeted Konohamaru happily.

Naruto smiled at him and introduced "This is Ebisu, that is Udon and that is Moegi. That is Konohamaru. And this is Kagome-chan. She's a friend of mine." Kagome smiled sweetly and she said shyly "It's nice to meet you all." Konohamaru returned her smile and he held out his hand, saying "I'm the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage and I'm Naruto's arch rival!" Kagome shook his hand and said politely, a sweet smile on her face "Pleased to meet you, arch rival of Naruto."

"Naruto happy Birthday!" greeted Sakura as she appeared from behind him.

Naruto smiled "Thanks Sakura-chan! Ne, Sakura-chan, did you bring me a gift?" he asked eagerly. Sakura smiled and she took out something from her pocket. It was a handful of ramen coupons. Naruto shrieked in delight and he hugged her tightly, before he scampered to the ramen stand to order a few ramen bowls as an appetizer. Kagome and Sakura each exchanged a knowing glance before they burst out in laughter. Naruto was really Naruto.

Soon more people started to arrive and Kagome became acquainted with all of them.

She and a shy Hyuuga Hinata got along quite well and Kagome could already tell at first glance that Hinata had quite a crush on Naruto, so much that it could be considered love. Kagome even urged Hinata to confess to her blonde haired friend soon, but Hinata turned pale and almost fainted at the thought.

And as for Hinata's cousin Neji; well…at least he smiled at her and treated her politely. Then there was Neji's temmate; Rock Lee was one seriously weird guy, but the aura he gave out told Kagome he was a good guy with a heart of gold. Lee was strong in Taijutsu and Kagome learned from Naruto that Lee modelled after his sensei, Maito Gai. Then there was Lee's teammate, Tenten; she was a master at using weapons.

Tsunade soon arrived with Shizune and she was carrying Tsunade's pet pig, Ton Ton.

Then there was also a gloomy looking guy named Aburame Shino who used bugs to fight his battles. There was a scruffy looking guy Inuzuka Kiba who owned this really huge dog named Akamaru. His Jounin sensei was a red eyed woman Yuuhi Kurenai.

Kagome met a blonde haired girl Yamanaka Ino, and she was surprised when she saw that Ino and Sakura had a really complicated friendship. And Kagome was acquainted with Ino's teammates, a rather… 'Big boned' guy Akimichi Chouji who really loved to eat and Ino's lazy teammate Nara Shikamaru. Then Ino's Jounin Sensei was a man named Sarutobi Asuma who constantly had a cigarette in his mouth.

And Kagome was surprised to find out that Asuma was actually Konohamaru's uncle.

While Kagome was busy talking to the girls, more people appeared and Naruto's expression brightened up immediately. He ran to greet a man with brown hair that was tied up into a high ponytail, and he even dragged that man to meet Kagome. Now Kagome was pretty used to guys looking at her a little longer than usual, so she didn't react much when she saw that Naruto's friend was staring a bit longer as well.

Meanwhile, Lee had gone to greet a man wearing a green spandex; seriously Lee looked like a mini clone of that guy. He yelled "Gai-sensei!" And they both embraced in a dramatic fashion; a sunset even appeared out of nowhere…

"THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA HAS ARRIVED!!" Gai announced in a loud voice.

And Kagome felt her heart skip a beat when her eyes landed on a certain silver haired Jounin who had also arrived beside Gai. The first thing that entered her mind was '_This guy knew Naruto?_' Her heart pounded like a drum as she continued to look at him. The silver haired Jounin's one eye travelled around to observe the scene before him and Kagome was sure that she saw his eye crinkling in amusement as he looked at her. Did he remember who she was?

"Sorry I'm late, everyone! I got lost on the road of life!" he said in a sheepish tone.

Both Naruto and Sakura screamed "Liar!" and then Sakura said in an accusing tone "You're on time for once because luckily I told you that we were supposed to meet here 3 hours ago!" The silver haired man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and he said "Ma, ma Sakura. Anyway happy Birthday Naruto."

Gai screamed "Kakashi!! My one and only eternal rival let us have a youthful challenge to celebrate your youthful student's most youthful birthday!!!"

But the silver haired Jounin named Kakashi just walked right past him. Gai muttered "Why is my eternal rival always ignoring me?" And then Gai-sensei looked around and when his eyes landed on Kagome, he screamed "THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH LIVES DEEP IN YOUR SOUL!! IN ALL MY YEARS AS A NINJA I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE PERSON HAVE SO MUCH YOUTH!! LEE!!"

"YES, GAI-SENSEI??" screamed Lee with a salute.

"STUDY HER AND OBSERVE THE YOUTH THAT RUNS IN HER VEINS!!" Gai commanded his student. "OF COURSE, GAI-SENSEI!!" Lee screamed back. And then Lee started to stare at Kagome like a hawk, refusing to look away and trying hard not to blink. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze.

She heard Neji mutter "Not again. As usual, they are over-enthusiastic. Why does this always happen?"

Tenten was shaking her head. She had a sweatdrop and was muttering "Gai-sensei…" Neji looked almost apologetic at Kagome and he lowered his head slightly, and it looked as if he was bowing in apology to her. "I apologize for the behaviour of Gai-sensei and Lee."

Kagome shook her head and smiled "It's all right."

Then her attention then turned to the Jounin named Kakashi. Kakashi…… wait a minute. There was only one person named Kakashi in Konoha and that would be…He was Hatake Kakashi?! As in the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha Hatake Kakashi? Sharingan Kakashi?!

Kagome mentally snorted when she realized something.

Hatake Kakashi meant Dry field and Scarecrow… that was a fitting name for him, considering the fact that he did look like a scarecrow thanks to his lean but well toned figure and mask. Not to mention that the mask and hair made him look like all the more like a straw hat figure.

Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand and he led her to where Kakashi and Iruka were both chatting.

"Ano sa! Ano sa! Iruka-sensei! Kakashi-sensei! I want you to meet a friend of mine! This is my neighbour Kagome-chan!! She treats me to ramen lots of times. And she believes that I can become Hokage as well!!" Kagome blushed slightly as Iruka took her hand and kissed it. "I'm Umino Iruka and that is Hatake Kakashi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kagome-san."

She smiled and said "Likewise Umino-san. And Hatake-san it is a pleasure to see you again. I hope that you're not busy taking the blame for other people's mistakes?" Kagome asked him slyly.

Kakashi creased his eye at her and he replied "Call me Kakashi please. And I hope you're not blindly walking around and bumping into other people and fighting over something so trivial?" Kagome blushed as Kakashi looked at her with his onyx eye and she heard an amused chuckle coming from him. And she believed that Kakashi smiled at her from under his mask.

She looked up, ready to glare at him again. But Kagome could swear that when her blue eyes met Kakashi's onyx one for that second, she could feel something. But Kakashi quickly tore his gaze away from her and then he pulled out a green book this time. The book was titled Icha Icha tactics and it was written by the one of the Densetsu no Sannin, also known as the Toad Sage; Jiraiya. And based on what Kagome knew about Jiraiya from the days when she was his informant, she would say that that was a book/porn about women.

And Kakashi read that smut?

Wow, Kagome could never tell that he was a pervert. Appearances sure could be deceiving. Kagome decided to divert her attention to Iruka and she began striking up a conversation with him. And when everybody was here, it was time for them to order their ramen. Kagome couldn't help but be curious as to how Kakashi ate when his mask was always on.

He looked at Naruto and asked "There is nothing funny going on right? Like nothing bad is going to happen?"

Okay, he was a little too cautious wasn't he? Naruto shook his head eagerly and his eyes were focused on Kakashi as he slowly lowered his mask. The rest of the crowd leaned in too, probably curious as to what he looked like. But at the last moment, there was an interruption.

Jiraiya had started quite a commotion with Tsunade, and almost everyone had to stop Tsunade from killing him. Naruto had to remind her that it was his birthday, so he didn't want Tsunade to send Jiraiya flying out of Konoha in the sky. Everybody was so focused on Jiraiya that they didn't notice Kakashi eating. But when they turned back, Kakashi was already finished eating and his mask was on already.

Everyone groaned in disappointment but the two workers at the ramen house were blushing and one of them looked love struck.

Kagome wondered if Kakashi was a real hunk under that mask. Maybe that would explain their reactions. Kakashi looked at them and asked curiously "What? Could it be that you wanted to see under this mask?" Everyone nodded eagerly and Kakashi said "All you had to do was ask."

Everyone fell anime style and Kagome heard Sakura mumble unhappily "What? After all the tricks we pulled over the years just to see it?"

Kagome silently tried to conceal her giggle and she watched carefully as Kakashi slowly began to reach for his mask. He pulled downwards slowly and said "Well, underneath this mask is... another mask!" and true to his word, there was another mask, only it was lighter in colour. Everyone, including Kagome, fell anime style again and had anime sweatdrops on their foreheads. Naruto yelled out "Kakashi-sensei! You never change do you? You said the exact same thing three years ago!!"

"Did I?" he asked in a sheepish tone.

Everybody ignored him and they resumed their conversations. When Kagome was chatting with Kurenai and Shizune, Jiraiya interrupted them. He took Kagome's hand and even started to flirt with her. Kagome was about to punch him in the face but thankfully Naruto dragged him away.

Then the weirdest thing happened.

End Chapter

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Thank you Hells Twilight, Silveromance, ayashi77, kakashixangela, crazy guard girl, leopygirl, cowgirlkitten2000, raillelee, Pure Iciness, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Reads-way-2-much, hermonine, enchanted nightingale, Aoko Rosetta, Rinda-chan, Aashni, Saphire Moon Maiden, Kon Bubble Blaster, and Smoochynose for reviewing!!

So I ended up changing Kagome's job. Now she's a doctor instead of working in a flower shop! And yes, Konoha Hospital is made up of regular doctors and medical Ninja.

Please review!


	4. Destiny

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 4: Destiny

* * *

Someone, Konohamaru most likely, had accidentally spilled water on Kagome while trying to impress Naruto. But at least it was water, and not piping hot ramen.

Kagome ended up being soaked to the skin and she just happened to be wearing a white dress with a pink bra and pink underwear. So when the water spilled on her, you could clearly see them quite clearly. It looked like she was wearing a bikini. And her wet hair made her look all the more sexy.

Everyone was staring like crazy and Jiraiya was suffering from a major nosebleed.

He was gawking and Naruto was yelling at him "Ero-Sennin!! Look away!!" But Jiraiya continued to look and he had hearts in his eyes. Kagome didn't mind his reaction that much since all the other guys were staring at her as well but she drew the line when Jiraiya took out his telescope and used it to look at her chest. That pervert… Kagome was actually tempted to pound him into oblivion but she restrained herself; there were too many people around.

But that didn't mean that she wouldn't try to beat the hell out of him when they were alone…

"Full points! I'll give you full points for that body!!!" he yelled in a giddily happy tone, which only made Kagome want to kill him more. But thankfully, not everyone was behaving as exuberantly like Jiraiya. Neji, Shino and Shikamaru were looking away from her while Lee was blushing terribly; he was still following Gai's orders and watching her like a hawk.

Gai was screaming "WHAT YOUTH FOR SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!!"

Chouji was still eating his ramen oblivious to everything. Kiba was covering Akamaru's eyes and Tenten was covering Konohamaru's eyes. Ebisu was covering Udon's eyes and he was looking away. Shizune, Moegi, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Kurenai were helping her to get covered and dried. Iruka and Asuma were ordering the passer-by's to look away. And if the passer-bys didn't look away, then Tsunade would give them a glare that promised death.

What about Kagome then?

Well…she was flat out embarrassed like hell and was blushing like crazy. This was just great, why did she have to be so unlucky? And she knew that her cheeks grew even redder when Kakashi looked at her, his visible eye wide. Then he carefully bookmarked his page and tucked the book into his back pouch. He walked towards Kagome and put his arm around her waist. Kagome looked at him in confusion and he said "Come on, I'll take you home. If that's all right with Tsunade-sama?" he asked the Hokage, and she nodded.

"Where do you live?" he asked her.

"I live on the same floor as Naruto's flat, and my apartment is on the opposite side of his," Kagome told him. He nodded and replied "Hold on tight now." Then his hand tightened around her waist and he began to use his other hand to make the hand signs.

There was a puff of smoke and Kagome found herself back at her apartment.

Kakashi let go of her almost instantly and he looked like he was about to use his teleportation spell again. Kagome held on to his arm and he looked at her in confusion. "Hold on Kakashi-san. Don't go yet. Let me change first. Then you can take me back. Naruto-kun must be killing Konohamaru and Jiraiya by now." Kakashi nodded and he turned around, looking for a window. Then he opened the window and sat on the ledge, facing the outside.

He pulled out his Icha Icha Tactics and began to read.

Kagome managed to find a towel and she began the exasperating task of drying her hair. Once she was done, she headed for her closet and looked for something else to wear. But the only clothes that she could find were a tank top and a mini skirt. Kagome seriously needed to do her laundry or she would only have skimpy clothes to wear.

She silently groaned and Kakashi asked, without even looking up from his book or turning around "What's wrong?"

"I have no more clothes to wear except for one that makes me look like a bimbo. Wait while I get dressed. And no peeking at me please. I'd rather not find out first hand if you are a pervert or not since you read Jiraiya's erotic novels," she told him sullenly.

"You can trust me," he said.

"I hope so," she muttered under her breath and once she made sure that Kakashi was not looking, she took off her dress and started to change. Then she combed and tied her hair into a high ponytail and wore boots. Kagome added a little jewellery and make-up on and she took one look at herself in the mirror. When she was satisfied, she said "Okay, I'm ready. You may turn around now."

Kakashi turned back around and got off the window ledge.

Kagome had a smug smile on her face when she noticed that his cheeks were a little red. "Are you done gawking from underneath the mask?" she asked him coyly. Kakashi's cheeks turned a little redder and he approached Kagome. He wrapped his arm around her waist again and did the hand signs.

"Hold on," he told her in a sexy tone.

Then the same process was repeated and Kagome found herself back at Ichiraku Ramen house. Everyone's eyes were on her and Kagome was uncomfortable with all the attention. "Is there something wrong?" she asked uncertainly. Naruto shook his head and started to talk to Sakura again.

Jiraiya came up to Kagome and told her "Kagome-sama, you are an unrivalled beauty, even more beautiful then Tsunade when she was a young woman. You are the most beautiful woman I have come across in all my fifty years of living, and I was wondering… whether you would let me model you after the female lead in my new novel, Icha-Icha Heaven! And of course I'm going to need a few photos of you…Do you have a bikini?" he asked her in a curious tone.

Kagome didn't answer him, instead she said "Jiraiya-sama, I don't think I'm as beautiful as you say I am. I still think that Tsunade-sama's beauty is unrivalled, so why don't you ask her whether she might be interested?"

Jiraiya looked at Kagome as if she had grown a second head.

"Are you serious?! Tsunade would kill me and she nearly did too, just because I was peeking at her bathing in the bath house. Please!!" he begged her in a desperate tone. "But Jiraiya-sama, what makes you think that I won't kill you as well?" Kagome asked in him in a dangerous tone, her blue eyes twinkling.

Jiraiya gulped and stuttered out "Err…Right…" and he immediately scooted behind Naruto. Kagome saw Naruto looking Jiraiya in confusion, asking him "Ero-Sennin, what's wrong with you? You look as if Tsunade-Obaa-chan had announced that she loved your porn." Kagome couldn't help but snigger at Jiraiya as he replied that it was nothing. Naruto would have killed Jiraiya if he Toad Sage had told him what he was afraid of.

Kagome turned around when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Kakashi was looking at her and he said in a dead serious tone "Kagome-sama, please do it!! Do it for the sake of the Icha Icha series! I am a fan of Jiraiya-sama's books and have waited a long time for a sequel to Icha-Icha Tactics! Please, I am begging you!"

Kagome could only stare at Kakashi, a sweatdrop forming on her forehead.

She replied sheepishly "Um… Kakashi-sensei, why would I want to be on the cover of a pervert novel knowing full well that a lot of perverted men will buy the novel and make googly eyes at my picture on the front cover and have dirty thoughts about me? Sorry but I have to decline Jiraiya-sama on this one," she told him.

Kakashi sighed and he placed his hand on his Hitae-ate. Then he adjusted his Hitae-ate and this action was spotted by Sakura.

She gaped at him and said "Kakashi-sensei! You're not going to use the Sharingan on Kagome-chan are you?" Kakashi looked at her and his expression clearly read, 'What the heck?!' Kagome stifled a giggle as Kakashi replied "Sakura, I may be obsessed with Icha-Icha paradise but I would never stoop so low as to hypnotise Kagome-san into doing what I want now would I? Since when have I behaved like that in all the three years you have known me?"

Sakura blushed and she said "Of course not. I apologize for even thinking that, Kakashi-sensei."

Kagome looked down when she felt a tug on her waist. It was Konohamaru. He looked at Kagome and apologized "Kagome-nee-chan, I'm really sorry for spilling water on you. I was trying to show Naruto-nii-san my new jutsu." And he looked really scared as he looked to his left. There was a on his head and Naruto was standing behind him cracking his knuckles in a menacing way.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

"It's all right Konohamaru-kun, really. I don't blame you at all. And Naruto-kun, you really needn't have whacked him you know. What would happen if Sakura-chan found out what you did?" And as if Kagome had said the magic word, Sakura appeared by Kagome's side, smiling.

Naruto gulped.

Sakura looked at Konohamaru and then to Naruto, and it looked like she figured it out. She screamed "NARUTO!! YOU HIT A KID!! SHANNARO!!!" and her pink hair was blowing all over the place. Her eyes were scary looking and so was her face. She held up her fist and Naruto stuttered out "Sakura-chaaaaaaan, calm down please..." Kagome and the people who were standing near winced as Sakura beat the crap out of Naruto.

Kagome had a sweatdrop on the back of her head and she muttered nervously "Remind me never to get on Sakura's bad side…"

Within a few minutes, Naruto was lying on the floor unconscious and Sakura was dusting off the dust on her clothes. "Ano…Sakura-chan…" Kagome said weakly. Sakura's mood immediately changed as she looked at Kagome. A bright smile was on her face as she replied "Yes, Kagome-chan?"

"No-nothing!" Kagome stuttered out nervously. Kagome had been too frightened of Sakura to tell her that maybe she had been too hard on Naruto.

Soon the birthday celebration was over and everyone was saying goodbye. Kagome was about to leave but she noticed that Kakashi was still at the Ramen stand, sitting on one of the chairs. "Are you staying behind Kakashi-sensei?" Kagome asked curiously as she sat beside him. "I'll be leaving very soon, Kagome-san," he replied. Kagome smiled and poked him. Kakashi looked at her curiously and she smiled "So you're Naruto's sensei huh?" she asked him curiously.

Kakashi nodded and she muttered "What a small world…"

"Konoha isn't really that big compared to the outside world. And I've never seen you around here before. So you were the 'very kind and pretty nee-chan that moved next door who always treats me to ramen' that Naruto couldn't shut up about when we did our missions?" Kakashi asked, and his visible silver eyebrow rose in amusement.

Kagome flushed and her blue eyes were averted to the ground. "He said that about me?" she mumbled in a tone that was between flattery and embarrassment.

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and his onyx eye traced Kagome carefully, from her flushed face to her figure, mostly to her cleavage. He found his visible eye creasing as he thought happily '_A C-cup huh?_' Kakashi would have whistled out loud if it weren't for the fact that Kagome was here, and he knew she, like every normal woman be it Kunoichi or civilian, would kill him if she knew that he was appreciating her chest size.

Kakashi snapped out his thoughts when he noticed that Kagome was talking. "Would you like to take a walk with me around Konoha, Kakashi-san? I'm afraid that I'm still not all that familiar with the streets around here yet," Kagome said sheepishly, her eyes gazing out the ramen stand.

"Maybe you could show me around?" she asked hopefully, her eyes flickering over to Kakashi and she looked slightly embarrassed.

It didn't take Kakashi long to figure out what was she implying. He creased his eye and asked in a mock surprised and playful voice "Why Kagome-san, is this you own secret way of telling me that you don't know how to find your way back home?"

Kagome's cheeks flushed red and she pouted childishly.

"You caught me…" she admitted with a shrug. Then she paused and eyed Kakashi critically when she noticed that he was looking at her with an amused expression in his eye. "But I've only been here for two weeks so there's nothing wrong with not remembering my way around! It takes me some time to get used to a new place!" she said, trying to defend her self.

Unfortunately, the amused look was still in his eye.

"It's not that big a deal Kagome-san. I'm sure that if I wanted to, I could memorise all the streets in the span of a day, much less find my way home, so you can as well," Kakashi replied as a matter-of-factly. Kagome had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Well duh he could do that; he had the Sharingan! And he wasn't known as a genius of Konoha for nothing!! Itachi had told Kagome about Kakashi, reminding her to be careful about him.

Despite his aloof and laid back appearance, Kakashi was a very analytical and intelligent man, a brilliant tactician to boot.

Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Copy Ninja or Sharingan Kakashi who was known to have copied over 100 Jutsu; he was the youngest Genin in History, graduating the academy in less than 6 months at the age of 5 and being promoted to a Chunin at the age of 6. He was a Jounin at 19 and an ANBU captain several years later.

Itachi knew that Kakashi had been an ANBU captain because Itachi took over Kakashi's rank as captain of the squad when he retired.

Anyway, the point of it here was; Kakashi was a genius and a prodigy. Well…so was Kagome. But directions weren't her thing. Kagome was more into learning new Jutsu, mastering her elemental natures and mastering her Miko energy type of girl. She usually depended on Itachi to make sure they weren't lost or something, so that was a reason why she objected going solo. But Kagome could be reliable when she wanted to, when she picked up somebody's aura and could follow it.

But her apartment didn't have an aura… It wasn't alive…

So she would just have to wonder around Konoha before she found her giant apartment building. "Forget I ever said anything then," Kagome sighed deeply and she stood up, heading for the exit. She could feel Kakashi's amused stare at her back, but she ignored it and walked on. When she was about to duck under the flap, Kakashi's low voice sounded out.

"Kagome-san, maybe I could guide you back to your apartment," Kakashi said with a resigned sigh.

Kagome instantly reeled around, and the expression on her face was similar to that of a child who was receiving a mountain load of presents on Christmas Day. "Really?" she asked, her voice jumping an octave higher. Kakashi nodded, trying to stomach on her enthusiasm and Kagome's smile brightened.

"Oh thank you Kakashi-san!!" she gushed out in a grateful tone.

Kakashi got out of his head and his gaze was still focused on his book. "Just don't expect me to do it again…" he mumbled as he walked out of the shop. He was using his book as a distraction, trying not to look at her. Kagome pranced along beside him, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice how small her frame was compared to his. Kagome only reached until his chest, and she looked so petite, so harmless that Kakashi couldn't imagine her getting into a fight. But boy was he dead wrong…

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of Kagome's apartment and she turned to face Kakashi.

Her hands were behind her back and she was tapping one foot nervously on the ground. Her face was down, and her eyes were shy to look at Kakashi. "Well, this is my apartment," she mumbled out "And thanks for helping me find my way back Kakashi-san. I think I would have wandered around Konoha for a few more hours if you weren't there to help."

Kakashi looked at her lazily and smiled. Kagome blushed deeper as she struggled to find the courage to attempt what she was trying to do. She gulped and gritted her teeth. Come on, she had killed and did many things that women her age didn't do.

So what was so difficult about this one little task that she wanted to do?

What was so difficult about showing her gratitude to him? Kagome slowly looked up and her blue eyes met Kakashi's black one, and for a moment she just stood there, perfectly still, although her heart was pounding in her chest.

Kakashi was observing her movements quietly, trying to predict what she was going to do next, but what Kagome did next surprised him entirely.

She grabbed him by his Jounin vest and pulled him down so fast that Kakashi didn't have time to react. He couldn't believe the amount of strength she had for a woman so small. Then she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on his cheek.

And just as quick, she pulled back, muttered "This is a thank you gift for helping me," before she dashed up her apartment steps.

Kakashi could only stare at her retreating figure, before he smiled ever so slightly. He let out an amused chuckle as he shook his head at her flustered behaviour and he disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves soon after.

Inside the confines of her apartment, Kagome was breathing heavily and her heart was still pounding furiously, and it didn't look like it would slow down anytime soon. She could not believe that she had actually done that. She could not believe that she had actually kissed him! Well, technically, it wasn't a kiss since it was on his cheek, and not to mention, his mask was in the way.

But still…Kagome had never kissed another guy before, not including Itachi. But she treated Itachi like her brother! Her nii-san, so her kissing him didn't count!

What had caused Kagome to give Kakashi a kiss? Why did she even want to give him a kiss? Usually, the opposite species didn't really mean much to Kagome. Boys were just boys. But her perspective changed ever since she came to Konoha.

Kagome found her eyes widening slightly as she realized this.

Could it be that she was feeling somethings for Kakashi? Attraction maybe? Kagome shook her head, trying to dispel the naughty thoughts in her head as she walked tiredly to her room. That couldn't be true… Could it?

Nah…

Kagome crashed down on her bed and sighed deeply, before she gazed out of her window, staring at the full moon. She wouldn't think about her feelings now, maybe these feelings would disappear after a while if she didn't see Kakashi anymore, she thought, trying to reassure her self. Yeah, Kagome knew that if she decided not to see him anymore, she was sure that these strange emotions she was feeling for him would disappear soon.

But somewhere, deep down, Kagome was sure that her destiny with Kakashi was only just beginning to unfold.

End Chapter

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Thank you kakashixangela, Smoochynose, BlondeKell, Silveromance, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Reads-way-2-much, Kon Bubble Blaster, Saphire Moon Maiden, crazy guard girl, Hells Twilight, raillelee, cowgirlkitten2000, hermonine, Pissed Off Irish Chick, LuLuCrazeD, B.D. Gerrretson, Vampire Miko 159, TheBestScreenNameEver and Moon Smurf for reviewing!

See I told you nothing changed much from the original version. I just added some more events.

Please Review!


	5. Avoiding

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 5: Avoiding

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The next few days passed by pretty slowly in Kagome's opinion, and she was bored out of her mind just staying at the hospital all day taking care of perverted men. She had been trying extremely hard to keep that promise to herself, about not seeing Kakashi anymore. But it was proving to be quite difficult. And that was why time passed slowly for her these days; because she was avoiding Kakashi. Sure, she never ran into him once since the day at the ramen stand, thanks to her Miko powers.

She could sense his aura on the streets now that she had familiarized with his aura and if she sensed that he was heading in her direction, she would take another path, which of course got her lost since she still had trouble remembering some of the streets of Konoha.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, she was avoiding Kakashi, but she DIDN'T want to avoid him.

And Kagome knew that she was going to crack soon if this kept up. She needed some fresh air to clear her thinking a little and refresh her mind. So one day she at the hospital she volunteered to go out of Konoha and bring back some medicinal herbs for the hospital. No one else that was not a Ninja was brave enough to venture out of Konoha without a Ninja escort except for Kagome and Sakura due to the impending dangers such at the upcoming war.

All the Medic Ninja were busy at the Konoha hospital; the other Ninja were busy with their missions, so everyone simply had no time.

Sakura was swamped with the amount of patients at the hospital, and Kagome knew that the hospital needed the herbs. So Kagome volunteered her services to them, at her own risk and the hospital would not even be accountable for her death or if she received any injuries out there.

Kagome left Konoha that morning, not bothering to bring along any weapons with her.

She knew that she didn't really need them to defend herself even if she were to be attacked out here in the woods. Kagome may look like a weak and defenceless woman to most people with her petite build, but on the contrary, she was not. She didn't massacre her clan, join the Akatsuki, have a Kekkei Genkai and posses Miko powers all by sheer dumb luck ya know.

Kagome had chosen to wear a bubblegum pink tank top with blue shorts that brought out the colour of her eyes. As for her choice in footwear, Kagome wore some sneakers. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail and for jewellery Kagome had chosen to wear a beautiful necklace that Itachi had given to her on her 21st birthday; just two years after she met him. The necklace had a long silver chain and there was this little heart shaped stone in the centre.

Kagome really treasured the gift and she wore it most of the time. The only times she didn't wear it was when she didn't have anything to go with that necklace or when she was in the shower.

Anyway, Kagome was exploring through the forests, and before long, she realized with a dull pang that she did not know where to find all the good locations for the herbs that were on her list. She mentally slapped herself for her stupidity. She should have gone to the hospital first and asked for a map of the terrain before she set out.

So as to save time, Kagome decided to explore the terrain relying on her a trick that she learned by using her Earth Affinity. She kneeled down and sank her fist into the ground. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated directing her chakra into the ground. Kagome didn't want to attract attention. It would only mean that she would have to leave Konoha and move to god knows where next. So she poured a minimal amount of chakra, not a lot to be noticed and sensed easily, but just barely enough for this trick, into the ground.

Kagome exhaled a sigh as she thought back to the time after she had recently met Itachi, and he was the one who taught her this neat little trick.

Itachi had helped Kagome to train her in mastering her Earth Affinity, since no one else could teach her. Her family was dead, she couldn't ask Tobi (He was one horny asshole after he discovered her true gender), Pein was well…you get the idea; Kisame only had Earth as a secondary element, Kagome didn't want Zetsu to eat her, Deidara was a stingy asshole who was only concerned about his art, she would have to pay Kakuzu, Hidan and Sasori didn't have Earth Affinity nor the patience and finally Orochimaru already left.

So Itachi had been the last person that Kagome could turn to.

Itachi had been a great and extremely patient teacher to her, since he had copied a lot of powerful Earth elemental attacks with his Sharingan from the countless Ninja he faced. Itachi had mastered all the attacks already so he could teach Kagome. But at that time, Kagome had some difficulty learning because she was not a very good listener. And if a member of the Higurashi clan wanted to master their Earth Affinity, then they had to listen to the Earth.

Usually when Itachi gave Kagome advice on that matter, her mind would be somewhere else…

_Flashback:_

_The moon was lighting up the night sky, and in the forest below, two figures could be seen. Kagome was panting heavily as she lean against a tree trunk. She was positively exhausted. She had spent all day practising on how to control her Earth Affinity, and so far she did not improve much. In fact, she was failing rather miserably and her temper was slowly rising. So to say Kagome was annoyed was quite an understatement._

_She was positively pissed off._

_"Grrr!! I can't do it anymore, Itachi-nii-san!! Let's just face the facts; I don't know how to control my Affinity for Earth and I never will!!" Kagome yelled, then she stomped off angrily like a child throwing a tantrum and Itachi sighed deeply._

_"That is because you don't listen…" he said with a sigh._

_Kagome continued to walk away from Itachi and she noticed a tall tree that had a good view of the forest. So she focused her chakra to her feet and walked up vertically. She moved up all the way to the higher braches and sat down, sulking as she stared up at the starry sky. Kagome had a frown on her face and she sighed in exasperation. Then she proceeded to mutter a string of profanities under her breath. She couldn't help it all right?_

_She was just so freaking annoyed!_

_Kagome felt Itachi's aura near where her tree so she yelled out "Go away Itachi-nii-san...I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now…" Itachi didn't listen to her and he instead walked closer until he reached the base of the tree. _

_"You've been hanging around Zetsu too much. You're starting to swear like him. Imouto, can I come up, please?" he asked her politely. _

_Kagome knew Itachi long enough to guess that he would not give up anytime soon nor would he leave her alone until he had his way, so she sighed and relented. In her opinion, his stubborn attitude was really annoying at times. And why did he have to be so polite?! _

_If he wasn't polite, Kagome knew that it would be much easier to decline him!_

_"Very well then, suit your self," Kagome told him sullenly. Itachi smiled slightly and he took a chakra enhanced leap, landing beside Kagome gracefully. She started to grumble under her breath and she turned away from him; Itachi just always had to be perfect and graceful did he? Kagome would give anything to see him stumble or be anything but perfect and graceful for once. But sadly, it seems, that would never happen._

_"Imouto –" Itachi began, but before he could say another word, Kagome had turned to him and she placed her finger on his lips. "Before you say anything Itachi-nii-san, let us get this straight. I will never be as powerful as you even if a million years passed. And I will never master my stupid Earth affinity. Got it?"_

_Itachi shook his head and replied "On the contrary Kagome, Earth Affinities are one of the easiest to master. It is actually Fire that is the hardest to master since it can and will burn you if you are not careful. Also, I believe that with the proper training, you can be a lot stronger than me. But first, you have to train hard, okay?" he asked in a serious tone. Kagome could only stare at him as he said all that. And even after he finished talking, Kagome was silent. She blinked once, then twice._

_"Umm, Imouto?" he asked uncertainly._

_"Earth is the easiest to mater?" she asked him uncertainly with wide eyes. Itachi nodded and Kagome gushed out "Then do you really think that I can be as strong as you?" Itachi nodded and Kagome whined "But why?! I'm super short for a woman **my** age, I have a horrible temper and I don't even have any special attacks to boot while you're tall, super patient, rarely lose your cool in battle and have the Ultimate Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, offence and defence! So how can the hell I be stronger than you?!"_

_"Kagome…" Itachi began in a slow tone and Kagome knew that he was being very serious with her. He never used her name unless he was trying to be serious or if they were in public, and even then he would use her nickname 'Kage'. "You're only thinking about your bad points. And trust me Kagome, you have a lot of good points too," Itachi told her calmly._

_"Then name me some of them…" she grumbled._

_Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Very well then, let's see… You're a fantastic medic, maybe even a better medic than Tsunade. Your temper has its strong points, like your stubbornness and determination. Your Kekkei Genkai also runs strongly in your veins, and you have powerful spiritual abilities. Does that count?"_

_Kagome had a slight blush on her face and she mumbled "I had no idea you thought that well of me…"_

_Itachi allowed a rare smile to appear on his face "I'm just stating the facts Kagome. And I'm going to give you a bit of advice about Earth Affinities. So listen carefully. This is the most important principle in controlling your Earth Affinity. And it also applies to the other factors as well."_

_Itachi looked at Kagome to see if he had her full attention. When he saw that he did, he continued._

_"The entire world is just one big living organism. Do you think that you're any different from me or our teammates or even the plants Imouto? If you listen hard enough you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most people don't act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree. Everything is connected Imouto, remember that. And never forget it." Kagome smiled slightly and said "Thanks Itachi-nii-san, for making me feel better." _

_Itachi didn't reply at first, but after a few seconds he patted her back reassuringly and said "No problem Imouto. Now that that's covered, let's get back to your training."_

_Kagome's eyebrow twitched in irritation and she growled "Itachi… I have been training since freaking daybreak and in case you haven't noticed it's already midnight. I am all out of chakra and I'm tired as hell. Now way am I going to train some more. You can kiss my ass first!" she yelled in an annoyed tone. But then a small blush started to form on her cheeks as she realized what she had said. She buried her face into her hands and she let out an exasperated sigh. "I told you I had a bad temper…" she mumbled._

_Itachi chuckled softly "And I was only kidding Imouto…"_

_End flashback:_

Kagome closed her eyes and focused her chakra into the Earth. Soon, she was travelling at a very fast pace, but it was her vision that was travelling. This was what Itachi had meant by everything was connected, Kagome mused to herself. Her vision now was something similar to the Byakugan of the Hyuuga clan. The only difference was that Kagome's eyes were closed, the colour of Kagome's vision was normal, not in the negative colour the way the Hyuuga's see with their Byakugan.

As Kagome used that technique, she could see where all the herbs she was looking for were at. Kagome was sure to remember where they were situated before her vision travelled further. Kagome's soon saw a clearing and she could make out a lone figure standing in the distance.

The figure was dressed in a Jounin Uniform and had silver coloured hair.

Kagome frowned in puzzlement. Was that Kakashi? What on Earth was he doing there so early in the morning? From what Sakura and Naruto had told her, Kakashi was always late for their morning training sessions, so Kagome had guessed that he was not a morning person.

But who would have guessed that he woke up so early, coming over here?

Kagome knew that she should ignore him like always and do her job; after all, she had been trying to distance herself from him for the past few days. And now Kagome knew she had finally cracked; she WANTED, no, NEEDED to see him again. When she laid her eyes on him, she had that insane desire to go over there and chat with him, be near him. She couldn't stop herself from retracting her hand from the ground and picking up her basket.

Her feet moved on their own as they brought her over to where Kakashi was.

He was quite far away from where Kagome was and it took her some time to reach him by just walking. When Kagome arrived at the clearing, she noticed that she was in a training ground, and there was a strangely carved rock in the middle of it. Kakashi was standing in front of the rock and he did not appear to have heard Kagome arrive. Kagome continued to watch him and she started to think. She should disturb him? But what if he didn't want to be disturbed?

Would Kakashi speak with her? Heck, would he even remember her?

Kagome shook her head to dispel those thoughts. She was being silly. She had only avoided Kakashi for several days, not several years. And their second encounter had been two weeks from their first encounter and yet Kakashi didn't forget about her. So he probably still remembered her.

Probably.

Kagome swallowed thickly and she plucked up what little courage she had now. She walked towards Kakashi uncertainly, and even then he did not appear to have sensed her. Or if he already knew that she was behind him from the start, he did not show it, because he remained emotionless and unmoving.

"Ano…Kakashi-san? Is that you?" asked Kagome.

Kakashi froze and that confirmed Kagome's suspicions, he did not sense her. He turned around, still tense but he relaxed when his eyes landed on Kagome. "Good morning Kagome-san. I'm afraid I didn't notice you there," he told her politely.

Kagome cracked a smile and she replied thoughtfully "Hmm…A Jounin who never realized that he had company…Wow you must have been really distracted Kakashi-san."

Kakashi was silent at Kagome's comment and he looked at her with his half opened eye. He then creased his eye and he turned around, staring at the strangely carved stone again. Kagome frowned as she looked at the stone from the corner of her eyes.

"What is that?" she asked curiously.

Without even looking back at her, Kakashi replied in a low voice "A Memorial Stone for all the Ninja of Konohagakure who were killed in action." Kagome's eyes landed on the stone again and she mumbled "Hmm…Kirigakure didn't have a Memorial Stone. I suppose the Mizukage really didn't care much for his Ninja and people, only himself," she added darkly.

Kakashi's ears perked up at the last comment that Kagome made. He couldn't help but wonder what did she mean by that?

"So Kakashi-san, what are you doing out by a Memorial Stone so early in the morning? From what Naruto and Sakura told me, you're basically their lazy ass sensei who has trouble waking up on mornings and reporting in for missions on time," Kagome summarized. Actually Naruto and Sakura had told her worse things about Kakashi, but she wouldn't tell him that. She didn't have the guts to say it to his face, and so did Naruto and Sakura.

So she summarized what they told her about him.

But then it occurred to Kagome that there was only ONE reason what Kakashi was doing at a Memorial Stone so early in the morning. It was so obvious. Her blue eyes widened in realization and she informed him "Kakashi-san, please forgive me."

Kakashi turned around and Kagome met his confused eye. "Hmm? Forgive you?" he repeated "For what do I need you to forgive you for?" Kagome lowered her eyes "Please forgive me for asking why you were there. It was not in my business to know," she replied. Kakashi had an amused expression on his face and he told her "How could I forgive you for being curious? Curiosity is not a sin, and it's practically in human nature to be curious."

"But as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. So please, forgive me," she said again. "Well you're not a cat, and I'm afraid I don't know why you are apologizing for Kagome-san, so please explain to me why," Kakashi said in a playful banter.

Kagome looked at him and she hesitated for a moment, but then Kakashi prompted her "Well, go on then. What are you waiting for?"

Kagome sighed "I asked a pretty stupid question even though the answer was obvious and I know that I must have offended you, Kakashi-san," she told him and Kakashi raised his eyebrow in amusement. "Oh?" he muttered "Do I look offended to you?" he asked her.

"Gee, I don't really know, considering the fact that you cover ¾ of your face under a mask," she responded dryly.

Kakashi chuckled slightly in amusement but then Kagome groaned softly and Kakashi asked her, slight worry in his voice "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Kagome sighed "No. But I'm supposed to be asking you to forgive me, and I end up speaking sarcastically to you. What the hell is wrong with me?" she mumbled to herself.

Then she looked at Kakashi again "I'm sorry. I know I reminded you about your friends who were killed in action. I added salt to your wounds, if you would say it," she informed him with a grim smile. "Oh and how did you know that I had friends who were killed in action? Who knows, I could have come here to visit and pray for the Ninja that I do not know. Or I could have simply passed by and decided to pay my respects," he countered her wisely.

Kagome pondered for a moment before she replied him. "That might be true. But I'm afraid that in this case, it isn't so. But I wish what you said were true though. I can tell you come here everyday, Kakashi-san," she told him.

"Oh, how so?" he asked her, a hint of interest in his voice.

Kagome pointed to the ground that he was standing on. "See the dirt on that spot? It has a set of footprints there and the size matches your own. It means that you have been standing in that spot for a prolonged period of time that cannot be achieved in a few hours. So you come here regularly," she concluded.

"That's an interesting theory," he mumbled.

Kagome looked at the ground. "Well then, I'll leave you to your business then. It was nice meeting you again Kakashi-san." Then she turned around to leave. Kagome took a few steps before she stopped and called out "Kakashi-san. There was also another reason why I know that you come here everyday. When you told me that this was a Memorial for the Ninja that were killed in action, I could hear the pain and loss that you tried to hide in your tone. Goodbye."

Kakashi's visible eye widened in surprise at what she told him; she had actually heard that? Even the highly skilled Ninja couldn't hear or notice that; his hidden pain and regret. But she heard it. Takahashi Kagome certainly was an enigma to him.

And he wanted to solve that enigma.

Kakashi looked at Kagome and he frowned. Hang on; what was she doing her so early in the morning alone? Could she be leaving? He distinctly saw her carrying something; so she had to be leaving! That thought rang through his head and the next thing Kakashi knew; his voice sounded through the air as she took a few more steps. "Kagome-san, hold on a second. Where are you headed? Are you leaving the village?" he asked her. Kagome turned around to face him and she shook her head.

"No. Why on Earth would you think that? I'm just out here collecting herbs for the hospital. You can join me if you want," she told him.

Kakashi heaved a silent sigh of relief before he shook his head, replying politely "No thank you. You can go on without me. I'm staying here for a while longer. I still have something I need to do here." _Like reflecting on my past mistakes and the fool I had been back then…_' he thought, but she wouldn't know that.

Kagome turned her back on him and she smiled sadly, and fortunately, Kakashi didn't see her sad smile.

There was a hint of disappointment bubbling in her when he declined her offer. "All right then. I guess I'll see you around then. It was a pleasure meeting you again Kakashi-san. Ja ne," and she raised her hand, but she didn't look back. Then she started to walk away again. It was strange, Kagome was feeling some hurt in her chest with each step she took. Could she possibly be hurt because Kakashi turned her down? Well she had to expect it; if she wanted to ask a guy out she had to be prepared for him turning her down.

I mean, she shook her head at the thought, what type of sane guy wanted to go out with her, a girl who does unconventional things like asking guys out when it should be the other way round? Kagome sighed, and here she was really starting to like talking to him.

She stopped in her tracks and turned her head, staring at him. He was still staring at the Memorial Stone. Her eyes prowled hungrily up and down, trying to memorise his body. Kagome's eyes took in his lean but fit build; she could tell he was muscular, but not too muscular like all those body builders out there. She took in his slouched posture, and tried hard to have it ingrained it into her head. She stared at his silver locks, and she loved they way they sparkled in the morning sun; he must have really soft hair.

Kagome had that urge to run over there and feel those locks in her hand.

Her eyes travelled downwards and she actually found herself thinking '_He has a nice ass._' But she snapped out of her daze when she realized what she had been thinking and she flushed a deep crimson, but fortunately Kakashi didn't know. '_Gah! Kagome bad girl, bad bad girl!! You shouldn't be acting like a pervert here!_' her subconscious mind had told her. Kagome mentally slapped herself and she turned her head away from him.

She continued on her journey, with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

End Chapter

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Thank you Moon Smurf, crazy guard girl, Reads-way-2-much, Serenity digo19, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, iheartanime43, aGreatPenName, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Aashni, iWantToHateHim, Silveromance, Vampire Miko 159, ayashi77, Teldra, Pure Iciness, Pissed Off Irish Chick, kakashixangela, Minogaki TenTen, MuppyPuppy, LuLuCrazeD and Smoochynose for reviewing!

There, I updated on my birthday, April 19, as promised. And I'm finally 15! (Throws confetti in the air)

For some of you the date might still be April 18, so why is it 19 here? Well I live in Singapore, and it's the 19th here. If you don't know where it is you can go and check the map. It's the small country below Malaysia but you might not be able to see it because Singapore is just a small dot on the World Map.

Pathetic right? But hey, it's home.

And anyway, as a special treat, this chapter is longer than the previous chapters. And there's more interaction between our two destined lovers. Actually, this chapter was supposed to be spilt into two parts, but at the last minute I decided not to spilt them up.

If you're happy, review please and make me happier than I already am!


	6. Reflections

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 6: Reflections

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Kakashi continued to stare at the Memorial Stone, his face devoid of emotion. He was trying to run Ninja rule number 25 into his head; a Ninja shouldn't show emotion, he had tried to remind himself over and over again. But he was finding it difficult to not show emotion. Her words had cut him deep; deeper than any weapon that had before. And mind you, Kakashi has been a Ninja for 25 years, so he has had his fair share of serious weapon injuries.

Kagome was a wise…and gentle woman, not to mention her temper was unpredictable and her beauty could rival that of Tsunade's. She was also sharp to notice the tone in which he spoke to her. Kakashi knew the two of them would get along quite well. He had already enjoyed their playful bantering.

But yet…Kakashi knew that he couldn't risk losing another precious person.

It has happened to him so many times already; the first was his mother, then his father, and then Obito. Rin and Minato died in the Kyuubi attack and over the years in ANBU, Kakashi has lost more precious comrades than you could count. The pain was more unbearable each time one of his precious people die.

And although Sasuke didn't die, his betrayal had hurt Kakashi deeply; why do you think he never took on another Genin Squad after that?

Anyway…From the beginning, Kakashi has always been the survivor. He had always lived while people died in his place. Perhaps that would sound far fetched to most people, but it was true to him. Kakashi believed that he was a curse. He lived while others died. You want an example, fine…

His mother was the first to die while he lived. She had died giving birth to him, and Kakashi learned years later that his mother could have chosen to abort him because when he was conceived, doctor's had already warned that his mother's constitution wasn't suitable for having a baby. But she had refused abortion no matter how much Sakumo and the doctors had tried to persuade her, and she had been determined to carry him until the end.

Her life paid the price.

The second person to die in Kakashi's life was his father; and he died when Kakashi was 8. After Sakumo's death, Kakashi resented any resemblance he had with his father. He was ashamed of his father for taking his own life, quite a contrast since he was the one who had respected and loved Sakumo the most. Back then, he had done everything to try and please his father, to make him proud, to make him happy. That was why he joined the academy at such a young age.

He worked hard and graduated within 6 months, becoming the youngest Genin in history.

And oh how he loved the day when he received his Hitae-ate and came home. His father had smiled at him, ruffled his hair and told him how proud he was. Sakumo had even tried to make Kakashi dinner, but it was a pathetic attempt. Kakashi didn't complain though, he just ate happily. He really liked to please his father, to make him happy like that. He liked hearing his father say how proud he was of him. And so, Kakashi grew determined to please his father. He would train hard…just to make his father proud.

And after a year he was promoted to Chunin.

Kakashi was a genius; that was true. So that meant he was very intelligent and it was easy of him to solve any problems and understand any decisions. But Kakashi could not understand why Sakumo gave up the mission for his comrades. Because of that mission, his father was disgraced and in time grew insane, finally taking his own life.

People had always said that Kakashi was a spitting image of his father, the Konoha White Fang.

At first, Kakashi had cherished any resemblance he had to Sakumo. But after his death, Kakashi detested being told over and over again that he resembled his father, so in the end he settled on a mask to hide his face. Then the people wouldn't be able to say anything if they didn't know what he looked like. Even after all these years, Kakashi still wears a mask, but not to hide his face… Well he still does not want to show people his face, and he still wore his mask out of habit.

But, because of his father's death, Kakashi had strictly followed the way of the Ninja, which in turn caused him to abandon his comrades if it meant a successful mission.

His ideals often clashed with Obito's ideals of teamwork. But yet Kakashi had foolishly brushed it off. Uchiha Obito was his first and closest friend… He had managed to make Kakashi realize his mistake after that scolding and punch to the face.

He had made Kakashi understand why his father made that choice.

And yet, Obito had died while Kakashi had lived, when it instead should have been Kakashi who died; another case of Kakashi surviving while someone else died in his place. And because of Obito's sacrifice, he made Kakashi realize the importance of teamwork and the lives if his comrades; he knew that teamwork was important now, and even one small blunder may cause someone the lives of their teammates. Kakashi believed that after Obito's death, there was a saying that would haunt him.

Every action has a consequence.

Rin was greatly affected by Obito's death. She was never the same girl again. She smiled less and her cheerful demeanour disappeared completely. She was constantly distracted and grew careless even when doing the simplest of things. Kakashi knew that she was guilty over Obito's death; she believed that if she didn't let herself get captured by the enemy, then Obito and Kakashi wouldn't have had to go rescue her. If she didn't get captured, then the mission would have been a success and Obito would have lived.

Kakashi had did all that he could to cheer her up and convince her otherwise, but it never helped.

Minato had been too busy with his duties as the new Yondaime Hokage so he naturally spent less time with his students. Not to mention Minato's romance with Uzumaki Kushina had been prospering. So Kakashi doubted that Minato even noticed that Rin or Kakashi were depressed over Obito's death. But still, when Minato did have time to spend with his students, Kakashi cherished every second of it.

You see, when Obito died, Minato and Rin became Kakashi's closest family.

But unfortunately, the two of them perished on the day of the Kyuubi attack. See what Kakashi meant when he said he lived while others died? It was all too true in his case. Rin's carelessness had caused her to be distracted so she didn't notice until it was too late. She had been struck by one of the Kyuubi's tails while she was busy healing some injured Ninja. Rin had flown several hundred feet away and was dead even before she hit the ground. And Minato gave the ultimate sacrifice when he condemned his soul to spend an eternity in the Shinigami's stomach, just to seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto.

Kakashi was never the same again. All of his closest people were gone. He didn't have a purpose in life anymore.

That was why he joined the ANBU and became a cold hearted killer Codenamed Wolf, doing his best for Konoha and often putting the welfare of Konoha and the mission over his own life. Soon, he became a feared Ninja nicknamed Sharingan Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, all thanks to Obito's gift.

But over the years spent in ANBU, Kakashi's guilt was starting to consume him. Kakashi finally decided that had wanted to make it up to everyone who he had let down; especially Obito. He knew that if it hadn't been for his stupidity back then, Obito would have still been alive now and it would have been his name on the Memorial Stone. Kakashi quit the ANBU because he could not take it anymore. Ninja who joined the ANBU were expected to go insane pretty soon because of what their job required; because of what it did a person's body, soul and spirit.

When Kakashi retired from the ANBU, he became a Jounin again and his job was to be in charge of a team of 3 Genin until they become Chunin or Jounin like himself. He believed that he was sort of like a foster parent to them.

And parenting wasn't Kakashi's thing.

But being a Jounin again and not the ANBU were doing well for him. He grew mellower and adopted some of Obito's traits such as his late streak. He would always lose track of time when he visited the Memorial and thought about his past life. So Kakashi was literally always lost on the road of life.

He used to push everyone away; he was unwilling to let anyone get close to him, because he feared that he might lose them as well. That is why he did not have another friend. That is until he met Team 7. Hn, ironic really. In a sense, they reminded him of his old Genin Team. Naruto was like Obito, with his rash nature and his loyalty to his friends. Sasuke was like Kakashi, cold with a tragic past, and never letting anyone see through that mask of his. And Rin is like Sakura, the peacemaker of the team.

And the current Hatake Kakashi was like Minato, constantly smiling, always cheerful and ready to give out wise advice.

After working with Team 7 over a period of time, Kakashi have come to realize that Naruto and Sasuke were like little brothers to him, and Sakura was like a little sister. But he still did not dare not to take their team relationship deeper and closer than it already was.

Kakashi feared that he might grow attached to them and end up losing them as well.

It has happened to him so many times before. Just because a Ninja was powerful, it doesn't mean that they are immortal or were immune to death. Take the third Hokage and Minato for instance. They were very powerful people, but in the end, they were still killed. Funny, he taught his team about the importance of friendship yet here he was contradicting his own words. But now he was starting to regret pushing them away. Maybe if he had showed more concern instead of just teaching him jutsus, then Sasuke wouldn't have left Konoha for Orochimaru.

Although Kakashi had tried to persuade him otherwise, he guessed that he didn't try hard enough to stop him.

Naruto swore to bring him back, although so far he has been unsuccessful. Sasuke was like him, as Kakashi had once said. But he chose the wrong path. Kakashi had been fortunate enough to have the Sandaime Hokage there to help him after he had lost all of his precious people.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts and he sighed, his one eye solely focused on the Memorial Stone. The sunlight was shining down on it, and it made the Memorial Stone seem almost angelic. He turned his head and watched Kagome's departing figure. He shook his head and smiled slightly before turning back to the Memorial Stone. Kakashi's heartbeat increased dramatically and his one eye widened in surprise. He gasped silently and instinctively reached for a weapon from his pouch.

Okay, it was official, he finally cracked.

Minato, Obito and Rin were standing at the Memorial Stone, each smiling as they looked at him. They looked the same age as Kakashi last saw them. Obito was wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he died, but there was a bandage over his left eye. His body didn't look crushed and there was no blood stains on him. Rin was wearing her medic's outfit and her warm smile brought about a feeling of nostalgia in Kakashi. Her brown eyes were not lifeless as Kakashi last remembered them, but were full of life.

And Minato was wearing his Hokage cloak over his jounin uniform. His blonde hair was as spiky as ever and there was a warm look in his cerulean blue eyes.

Kakashi continued to stare at them. How could they be here before him? It was impossible. They were dead. It must be a trick of the light now. Or could it be a hallucination due to the lack of sleep he had? Or maybe it was because he finally cracked? Kakashi knew that it wasn't right to be seeing them stand in front of him as if they were alive, and that he should probably try to make them go away.

And yet…why did he wish to continue to see them? He didn't want them to go away. Damn it, he missed them.

Obito crossed his arms and smirked at him "Kakashi you're a procrastinated dick and look as if you've got a Kunai shoved up your ass! What the hell are you still standing here for? Go on, get going or I'll pound ya face in! Are you letting a babe like her walk off?" he yelled in a determined but ghostly sounding voice. Kakashi blinked at Obito's enthusiasm and he found himself smiling softly.

Just like old times…

Rin shook her head at Obito's use of language and she smiled tenderly at him "Shoo! Well you heard Obito! Go after her Kakashi-kun!" Minato ruffled Obito's and Rin's hair just like he used to, and he looked at Kakashi warmly, a gentle smile on his lips. "Go on Kakashi-kun. Don't push her away like all the others! Go after her and let her into your heart! We all think she'll do you some good! Besides, she's quite beautiful so it's a miracle she even talks to you!" he added with a mischievous wink.

Kakashi smiled, despite knowing that this encounter with his old team was unnatural.

And he almost yelled out in alarm when Minato, Obito and Rin started to fade away from him before his eyes. But Kakashi bit down on his lip and he watched them disappear and Minato even gave a cheerful wave before they could not be seen anymore.

'All good things must come to an end then,' he thought sullenly to himself.

Kakashi shook his head and closed his eye, trying to put what had just happened to him behind. It wasn't good and it wasn't right to remember your encounters with people that supposedly died in your life. Kakashi may be desperate to see them again, but he wasn't stupid or masochistic. If he wanted to see them again, he might as well do it when he was dead and not now, because the hallucinations would disappear and he would be hurting again.

But their words were still ringing in his head.

Kakashi looked at the Memorial Stone in silence and he wondered if it was true. Did Minato, Obito and Rin really want him to get to know Kagome better? Did they really want him to not push her away and instead let her in his heart? But… what happens if she were to leave him too? What if she died before him? Or what if she decided to leave him one day? Kakashi may seem a bit paranoid here, but almost everyone precious to him has always left, so why is she different from the rest?

As if his heart was answering his question, several flashbacks of the little times that Kakashi had spent with Kagome appeared in his head.

He saw her smiling face, how her captivating blue eyes seem to shine mysteriously. He saw her flustered face, how red she could blush when she was embarrassed. He saw her concerned face, how her eyebrows would crease with worry every time something bothered her. And lastly he saw her angry face, how her blue eyes would almost turn red with rage and how she gritted her teeth, as if restraining herself from screaming out a series of vulgarities. Kakashi found himself smiling as he thought about that.

Maybe…she was worth the risk.

End Chapter

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Thank you B.D. Gerretson, PiratekitAG, TheBestScreenNameEver, Silveromance, Smoochynose, Pure Iciness, ayashi77, crazy guard girl, iheartanime43, Aashni, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Saphire Moon Maiden, XXmistressdeathXX, LuLuCrazeD, Moon Smurf, hermonine, Lotuskiss, lil Erica, Kit the Fiendish Fire Cat and kakashixangela for reviewing!

Ah, this is a pretty uninteresting chapter about Kakashi sorting out his thoughts.

But because he did sort out his thoughts, he went after Kagome and became friends with her. If some of you were wondering whether Kakashi really saw Minato, Rin and Obito or were they ghosts or maybe a hallucination that his mind cooked up? The answer is for you to decide for yourselves, because honestly, I have no idea as well! XD

Please review!


	7. Compromise

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 7: Compromise

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Kagome was humming a soft tune as she kneeled down, fingering through the herbs and deciding which the best out of the bunch was. Her third encounter with Kakashi was not too long ago, and Kagome was slightly disappointed that he didn't go after her. 'Ah well, you don't always get what you wish for,' she thought with a sigh.

But a voice behind her made her snap out of her thoughts. "Ano…Kagome-san, is your offer to me joining you still up?"

Damn, why hadn't she sensed an intruder? How could she let him sneak behind her like that? Kagome wasn't used to people sneaking up on her like that because she could always sense their auras, but this person had completely caught her off guard. Kagome made a small gasp of surprise and she sprang up, instinctively curling up her fist and swinging it at the intruder. She felt her fist hit something hard and there was a slight crack. Kagome looked up at her intruder and brought her knee up, ready to knee him in the groin but she stopped when she saw who it was.

Kakashi.

Her blue eyes widened in shock and she managed to stop herself in time, her knee only inches away from hitting his …um… groin. Kagome turned as red as a beetroot and she quickly turned her face away from him. She was mentally slapping herself over and over again in her head.

Damn it, she had been that close to hitting his groin!

Gah, if she really had not managed to stop herself in time and instead kneed Kakashi, she was sure that after that he wouldn't want anything to have to do with her anymore. But thankfully she did stop in time. Still, it didn't mean that Kakashi would still want to talk to her! Kagome shook her head in confusion and almost cried out in despair.

Damn this man and making her feel this flustered!

Kakashi was fingering his jaw and he winced slightly, his visible eye contorting in pain. Wow, Kagome's unexpected punch was so hard that it had managed to dislocate his jaw. Kakashi managed to set his jaw back into place with a small 'pop' and he continued to massage it, noticing that it was starting to swell.

"I'll take your punch as a 'no' then?" he asked her but winced again.

"Oh my god Kakashi-san I am so sorry!!" Kagome said in a panicked tone as she fretted over Kakashi. "Maa, maa, it's all right. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that anyway," he told her with another wince. Kagome opened her mouth to retort him.

"But still it gave me no reason to hit you that hard!! I'm so sorry!!!" she gushed out.

"You were just acting in self defence Kagome-san, so I can't really blame you," Kakashi replied with a frown. Kagome's eye twitched and she said in a frustrated tone "Grrr, what is it with you and your tendency to take the blame? Just accept my apologies already damn it and quite trying to say that it's your fault! Why do you always go against me whenever I try and apologise to you?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly "Sorry Kagome-san," he said, trying to appease her, but it only added to her frustration.

"See there you go apologizing again when it's my fault in the first place!" she yelled. Kakashi had a sweatdrop at the back of his head and he listened to her rant. He rubbed his jaw and gave another wince. Kagome noticed his pain and she stopped complaining.

"Kakashi-san, are you all right?" she asked him in a concerned tone.

"Hmm…" Kakashi hummed thoughtfully "Kagome-san you hit pretty hard for a woman; and a civilian no less. Are you sure you're not related to Sakura and Tsunade or something, because you seem to have their insane strength. You managed to dislocate my jaw with that punch of yours." Kagome's eyes widened in surprise and a blush tainted her cheeks.

"I did?" she groaned.

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry I dislocated your jaw," she apologized with a bow, and Kakashi opened his mouth to reply. But before he could utter a sound, Kagome had placed a finger on his masked lips "And please don't say that it's your fault. Let me wallow in my guilt please," she told him dryly.

Kakashi blushed slightly at the close contact and he was thankful that he had a mask on.

"Mind bending down a little Kakashi so I can feel how swollen your jaw is now?" she asked him with a small frown on her face. Kakashi creased his eye and replied "Sure, but it's not my fault you can't reach my face. You're short Kagome-san," he said rather bluntly, which earned him a playful whack on his chest.

"Oh shut up," Kagome muttered; the small blush back on her cheeks "It's your fault for being tall."

Kakashi bent down and Kagome delicately traced the outline of his jaw, so as not to aggravate it further. But after a while Kagome frowned again and she cursed "Oh damn it! That's quite a swelling. You need medical attention Kakashi-san, otherwise there's going to be a nasty bruise there," she told him seriously. Kakashi smiled slightly "Never mind my jaw for now. I'll take care of it when I get home. Although, I should be thankful for wearing a mask in the first place right?" he asked her with a crease of his eye.

Kagome could only stare at him as he explained that to her. "Are you sure that your jaw is fine? Maybe I should take a look at it. I can heal it for you if you want. But you're going to have to take off your mask," she informed him, but Kakashi smiled and shook his head.

Oh, he knew where that conversation was going.

"I'm fine, Kagome-san, really. And it's going to take more than that to try and see my face," Kakashi mumbled playfully as he looked at her intently with his eye. It took a few moments before Kagome sighed deeply and shook her head "Damn, and here I thought I had a chance. But if your jaw starts hurting like a bitch and the swelling won't go down don't go crying to me. I did warn you ya know."

Kakashi only chuckled slightly.

"You did. And I won't complain much less cry to you. So Kagome-san, is your offer to me joining you still up?" Kakashi repeated again. Kagome stared intently at him, and the only thing she could utter was a confused "Huh?" Kakashi creased his eye at the cuteness of her voice.

"Y-you mean that you're not mad at me?" she asked in a surprised tone.

Kakashi feigned surprise and he gently placed his hand over his chest. "Why Kagome-san, why would I be mad at you? Like I said, it was clearly my fault this time for sneaking up on you like that. Especially when we're out of Konoha, you never know when you might be attacked by a Missing Nin," he said simply, his eye still in a crease. Kagome couldn't help but smile slightly at him; Kakashi was clearly different from all the men she had met in her life. And let's just say Kagome had met a lot back in the days when she posed as 'Kage'.

"So?" Kakashi drawled "About your offer?"

Kagome's smile widened and she replied smoothly "Of course you can Kakashi-san. But didn't you tell me that you were busy?" Kakashi smiled from beneath his mask and told her in a singsong voice "Nope. I just suddenly remembered that I was free. So what are you doing out here again?"

Kagome pointed to her basket "Collecting herbs for the hospital. Are you interested?"

"Hmm…" he hummed thoughtfully, and he even put his hand under his chin, a thoughtful frown on his face. But after a few moments he smiled mysteriously "Maybe… I might be able to help you collect the herbs you need. After all, I've been coming to this forest ever since I was a child," then he paused and looked at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"But…on one condition," he drawled.

Kagome's eye twitched slightly and she frowned "Exactly what would that condition be, Kakashi-san? If it's perverted, then you can forget it; I'd rather go and find the herbs myself. And I won't even care if I get lost or get killed by Missing ninjas."

Kakashi feigned mock hurt "You wound me with your words Kagome-san."

Kagome rolled her eyes and Kakashi sighed. "Anyway, back to my condition; I don't really think that there's a need for the honorifics here. You just have to call me Kakashi, not Kakashi-san, Kagome-san. I believe it's fairly reasonable, right?"

Kagome nodded as she thought about it. "All right then. But you have to call me Kagome as well to be fair. And if I hear you address me as Kagome-san, Kagome-chan, Kagome-kun or even Kagome-sama, then I will be forced to call you Kaka-kun or even Baka no Hentai no sensei (Translation: Stupid perverted sensei). I believe that's fair?" Kakashi nodded and he was actually grinning behind his mask, but he winced and remembered that his jaw was still swollen from that punch.

He silently thanked the heavens that he was wearing a mask; otherwise Kagome could have seen how swollen his jaw was now.

"Then what happens if I hear you address me as Kakashi-san, Kakashi-sama, Kakashi-kun, Kakashi-chan or Kakashi-sensei? I'll call you Kaggy-chan, Gome-chan, Kagome-sama or 'that woman with the bad temper'?" he suggested, even adding emphasis on his last suggestion. Kagome growled out "You're evil," and she playfully smacked Kakashi on his arm. But she was sure to not use so much strength this time. So she could safely say that Kakashi did not get any injuries or bruises from her whack, but he may have a sore arm.

Kakashi chuckled "I know I'm evil, aren't I? You've probably heard about my sadistic nature from Naruto and Sakura."

Kagome smiled slightly and she put her hand under her chin as if she was pondering on what to say to him next. "I did; Naruto and Sakura have got quite a lot to say about you, did you know that? When they're really frustrated with your behaviour they like to rant to me. And although you may be evil, I still want to thank you anyway…Kakashi," Kagome said in a thoughtful tone ad she held out her hand. Kakashi stared at her hand and wondered what he was supposed to do; he didn't really interact with people that much.

Kagome noticed his confusion and said impatiently "Well come on then. Thanks to you, I'm already behind schedule!"

Then she grabbed his hand and began dragging a stunned Kakashi through the forest. Kakashi found himself feeling some strange emotion that was bubbling inside his chest as he held her hand. The emotion wasn't unpleasant or anything; on the contrary, it had a certain warmth to it and Kakashi couldn't get enough of the warmth.

His stomach felt surprisingly very light; as if there were butterflies dancing in them.

And lastly, his heart was pounding loudly and erratically in his chest that he was almost sure that Kagome could hear it. After all, Kakashi could hear the blood pounding in his ears. And Kakashi also estimated that his heart was beating at over 120 beats per minute!

Why? Why was he reacting to her like that? Kakashi frowned beneath his mask as he struggled to find an answer, but he found none.

And as Kagome and Kakashi walked further into the forest, Kagome could feel his fingers slowly interlocking with hers. Her lips curled into a smile and a faint blush tainted her cheeks. "So where do we go now Kakashi?" she asked, but frowned when she got no reply.

She glanced sideways at Kakashi and noticed that he seemed to be in a daze. He was busy thinking about his strange reaction.

"Hello Kakashi, are you there?" she asked him again, this time her voice a little louder. Kakashi snapped out of his daze and Kagome inwardly frowned when he retracted his hand. And she was starting to get used to the warmth of his hand too… Kakashi smiled at her sheepishly.

"Sorry about that, I was lost on the road of life," he informed her with a hint of embarrassment in his tone.

Kagome shook her head and replied "It's all right. I sometimes get lost on the road of life too. The road is rather confusing and distracting…" Kagome murmured to herself, but when she noticed Kakashi staring curiously at her, her face flushed.

"What I mean is umm… I know what it's like to get lost on the road of life too… Reflecting on your mistakes of the past and why you're still standing here alive, living with your guilt as each day passes, wondering if maybe if you had been stronger then… somehow…someway you could go back in time and change all that; all the stupid mistakes you made in the past… That's how you end up getting lost," at her statement Kakashi's eye widened slightly, and it was unnoticed by Kagome.

"Anyway, I was asking you where we should go now?" she continued on.

Kakashi's eye scoured around and he pondered on his choices for a moment. Then he pointed to the left "If I remember correctly, there are some herbs over there," he said seriously. Kagome couldn't help but smile and replied playfully "You think? And I thought that you said you knew this place very well because you have been coming over here since you were a child."

"Well, I don't exactly take note of everything I see. Like I said, I get lost on the road of life when I come here and I think there are better uses for my memory such as the knowledge of 1000 over Jutsu rather than everything I see around here," he drawled out lazily, trying to hide his obvious delight at another challenge she had thrown him. Kagome pouted in a cute manner at him and replied "And I thought you said your memory was very good because you could remember the streets of Konoha in one day?"

"My memory is good, but even my memory has a limited amount of space like yours," he drawled.

"True," Kagome muttered thoughtfully, but then her lips curled up into a smile "But I thought Ninja were supposed to know and memorise their surroundings inside out so that the knowledge would aid rather than a bother when they're in battle with the enemy?"

"Ah…" Kakashi acknowledged.

Kagome smirked, thinking that she had won their debating this round when Kakashi answered back "But the world is quite a big place, and everything changes by the second. So I can't possibly remember and know it all unless of course I can see the future or I happen to know everything that is happening everywhere all the time. But having and knowing all that would make me seem like a God," he reasoned with a calm smile. Kagome blew a stray strand of hair away from her face and she frowned as she pondered on his answer.

This Kakashi was a hard person to outsmart, even for a genius like her.

Kagome knew that she couldn't argue with him with that kind of reasoning so she raised her hand up in defeat "Fine then, you win this round…" she admitted sourly. Kakashi creased his eye and she growled "Don't say a word. And it's not over yet Kakashi. I'll outsmart you…someday…"

He creased his eye in amusement at her statement.

Ah, Kakashi was enjoying himself so much just debating with her like this! Kagome was a smart and witty person, unlike most civilian women her age. Heck, even some Kunoichi didn't think that deep like she did. And not to mention, like Kakashi had first noticed, her temper was unpredictable compared to most women! A goofy smile appeared on his lips, although it was unnoticed because of his mask, and Kakashi hardly ever noticed the pain he felt from his jaw when he smiled. One thought was on his mind only.

She was so much fun to be around!

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed that Kagome was walking side by side with him now. She was muttering inaudible swear words under her breath and still had that unhappy but cute pout on her face. Kakashi smiled at the scene and his eyes travelled downwards when he noticed the necklace around her neck. He inwardly groaned; don't tell him she was already taken? Well, a beautiful girl like her still single would be a miracle. And didn't Genma tell him that she had agreed to go out for lunch with him?

Kakashi almost faltered in his movements when he felt a strange suffocating feeling in his chest. It was very uncomfortable; enough to make it hard to breathe properly. It couldn't be… Kakashi had felt this emotion once when Minato had first introduced him to Kushina and informed him that they were a couple.

Jealousy…? Why was he experiencing jealousy?

Was he jealous that Genma was having a lunch with her? Kakashi averted his eyes from her necklace, trying to wish the emotion away… and he only ended up looking at her chest. Kakashi's visible eye widened and he mentally yelled out in frustration.

Why did she have to choose to wear something so revealing like a tank top out of all the things she could have worn today? Why did she have to walk side by side with Kakashi when she could have walked behind or in front of him? Why did she only reach until his chest? And why did all of the above ensure that Kakashi had a SPECTACULAR view of her cleavage? Not to mention, Kakashi inwardly groaned when he felt a certain bulge growing somewhere down there.

It was official; Heaven hated him.

End Chapter

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Thank you enchanted nightingale, Pissed Off Irish Chick, Pure Iciness, kakashixangela, B.D. Gerretson, LuLuCrazeD, iheartanime43, Silveromance, Rinda-chan, Minogaki Tenten, hermonine, cowgirlkitten2000, MuppyPuppy, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, MikosWish, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, Aashni and merlyn1382 for reviewing!

Hmm, so more Kakakshi/Kagome interaction in this chapter!

Silly Kakashi really shouldn't underestimate Kagome; she could kick his ass if he let his guard down around her if she wanted. He got off lucky because she only dislocated his jaw and thankfully she stopped her leg in time; otherwise she would have hurt his manhood. Don't cha just love a badass Kagome? I sure do!

That's why I kinda dislike fics that make her look weak.

Please review!


	8. Discussions

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 8: Discussions

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Kakashi and Kagome were both walking through the forests outside of Konoha, chatting along the way.

Kagome would ask Kakashi about Konoha and he would tell her a great deal about it. But when she asked him about his life, his expression hardened for a second and Kagome decided not to probe. She guessed that he must have had a hard life and didn't want to talk about it.

Somewhat like her own life…

And Kagome also knew that he would tell her more about his life when he was ready; after all he had only known her for a short period of time. So instead she asked Kakashi about Naruto and his experiences with the blonde haired Ninja.

"You seem to be interested in Naruto a lot," Kakashi pondered thoughtfully after he told her more about the Kyuubi vessel.

Kagome smiled sadly "Well… Naruto really reminds me of my little brother back when I still lived in Wave Country. Souta, oh that's his name, really idolized me and would follow me around wherever I went …that is… before everyone died…" Kagome broke off and thought sarcastically '_Except for him. Souta hates me now and used to plot for ways to make me suffer a painful death before I faked my own death and came here. Now isn't it nice that I used to have a homicidal brother on my trail?_'

"I'm sorry for your loss," Kakashi replied sincerely, now understanding why Kagome knew what exactly the road of life was. It was because she had lost her family, her precious people, so she had probably known the pain and the loss and the guilt that Kakashi had felt when everyone precious to him died while only he was left alive and alone.

But…Kakashi also assumed that Souta was dead when actually he was not.

As a matter of fact, Souta was very much alive and living in Wave Country. To him, Kagome was the one who was dead. To him, she was no longer the kind and pure hearted big sister he knew and idolized, or so he had said when she met him again a few years ago.

"It's all right. It happened 18 years ago, when he was 4 while I was 10," Kagome sighed quietly.

Now…You must be thinking that Kagome was being pretty evil to lie to Kakashi right? But if you looked at it this way, you would probably see that actually she was not really lying to Kakashi. Take a moment to think about it… Kagome had never said anything about Souta being dead; it was Kakashi who arrived at that conclusion when Kagome didn't finish her sentence. Kakashi had probably thought that it was too painful for her to talk about it.

So she really wasn't lying to him now right?

Now Kagome, like any other Ninja, was trained to lie without batting an eyelid. Ninja were masters of deceit and they had to lie if they were on a mission and were caught or something. If the enemy had tortured them, the Ninja were trained to give out false information and make it look convincing so as not to jeopardize the success of the mission.

In other words, Ninja were skilled at lying.

Although Kagome could lie, there was a downside to it. Every time she lied, she would feel horrible or guilty for it. That's right; she was a Ninja with a conscience, which was kind of pathetic. Pein had said that Ninja were merely tools for hire, not people, much less people with feelings. To be a Ninja, you had to throw away your feelings.

That was why there was Ninja rule number 25: A Ninja must never show emotions, no matter what the circumstances.

And to a Ninja, the only thing important was the mission. You had to finish a mission no matter what happened, even if you lost your life. People don't care about Ninja if they died on a mission; they just cared if the Ninja finished the mission before they died. Heartless, wasn't it?

'_But such was the life of a Ninja,_' Kagome thought with a mental sigh.

Sometimes when she walked around Konoha, she saw children envying the Ninja that walked past them. And she could hear them whispering to their friends over how they would become Ninja when they grew up and fight the bad guys, save damsels in distress, save the day and be a hero. And every time she heard that, she couldn't help but shake her head at their naivety and for a brief moment, a sad smile would appear on her face. She thought that those children were really naïve; for they believed that Ninja were heroes that saved the day.

Like she had said, Ninja were tools that obediently followed orders from their leader, doing missions which ranged from D rank to S rank to earn a living.

And from what Kagome believed, the missing Ninja were simply the Ninja who wished to have their own rights, their freedom and not wanting to follow the orders of another, instead wanting to make the best of their abilities for the world.

She thought that missing Ninja were no different from children refusing to listen to orders from their parents that they didn't like. And not all missing Ninja were bad, for your information. Like herself and Itachi; the two of them weren't all that bad. Haku was no exception. He was such a pure hearted boy with a kind soul just like his name. Heck, even Zabuza may have had a little kindness in him when he murdered Gatou. But who knows?

Hang on a minute…

Kagome snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed how side tracked she got from the original topic. What she was thinking now was totally irrelevant. Dang, she tended to get side tracked in her thoughts or in conversations sometimes, and on the times she was like this always managed to amuse Itachi to no end.

Kagome stopped in her tracks when she spotted a type of herb that the hospital needed.

She smiled triumphantly and dragged a bemused Kakashi over. When they were in front of the herbs she knelt down and pointed "Look, listen and pay close attention Kakashi. This type of herb, once grinded into a fine powder, is used to be mixed into smoke bomb concoctions that you Ninja use because just a teaspoon full can render a person unconscious for um… roughly 10 hours, give or take a few hours depending on the dosage. And it takes effect if you inhale it."

Kakashi watched her carefully and he whistled low "You really know a lot about herbs don't you Kagome?"

She smiled and started to extract the herb. "I'll take it as a compliment from you then? And for your information Kakashi, would I be a doctor at Konoha Hospital if I didn't know much about medicine or herbs?" she asked him coyly. This statement made Kakashi blink in surprise.

"Oh? You're a doctor?" he asked her curiously.

She nodded enthusiastically and told him "Yup! I just started working at the hospital a few weeks ago, and I'm not one of those types of medic Ninja in case you're wondering. I'm just a plain civilian type doctor. But on some occasions I do treat some Ninja, like conducting their physical or when they request to be treated by me. Although…I've just realized, I've been treating a lot of males lately, both Ninja and civilian, for some strange reason…" her voice trailed off and there was a small frown on her face as she continued to extract the herb.

Kakashi unconsciously clenched his fist as he listened to her explanation.

Oh, Kakashi had a rough idea why Kagome was seeing so many male patients recently. Some of his own colleagues had purposely injured themselves and tried to convince him to do the same, because there was a chance that they might be treated by this hot new female doctor at the hospital. Naturally Kakashi had refused; what they were doing was low and despicable for even Ninja. And he knew only now, that the hot new female doctor that his colleagues were referring to was Kagome.

Oh…they were _so _going to get it from him…

"So where did you learn about medicine?" Kakashi asked, careful to show the curiosity in his tone. He was trying to divert his attention away, because he was suddenly overcome with this sudden urge to go over and castrate some of his colleagues who purposely got them selves injured. But obviously hurting your own people were wrong in Konoha, so he couldn't do that.

Kagome looked up from her herb picking and she cocked her head to the side innocently.

"Hmm…? Oh right, I suppose Naruto didn't tell you, did he? And this is only the third time we've met so I'm not surprised that you don't know. Ever since I was born, I lived at a shrine with my family back in Water Country. Even after I lost my family, I still continued to stay at the shrine and I was also a priestess there. My teacher Lady Kaede taught me many things about herbs and medicine but I left recently was because well…" she paused for a while, wondering if Kakashi knew the 'reason' why she came to Konoha.

"Did Tsunade tell you why I came to Konoha?" she asked him carefully. Kakashi shook his head "It's not my business to know what happened between you and Tsunade-sama."

Kagome shrugged "Well, I'll tell you anyway. Water Country didn't really suit my tastes anymore. The life there became quite harsh for me, because the after-effects of the internal war still affected the village I was at. Not to mention, recently, the shrine was destroyed in the internal war and I lost everyone, even Lady Kaede. So staying there became quite hard for me. There were many scars there that reminded me of what I had lost," she sighed sadly, before she noticed Kakashi and tried to smile.

'_Her smile doesn't reach her eyes,_' Kakashi noticed.

"I came to Konoha because it seemed like a fairly nice place and I could put my knowledge with herbs and medicine to good use. Not to mention I have miko energy, so it's pretty handy because I can use that energy to heal people. It's something pretty similar to the medic Ninja using their green chakra," she summarized with another smile.

'_Ah, now the smile reaches her eyes this time,_' Kakashi thought.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want me to use my miko energy to heal you," Kagome asked him with a contagious smile, and Kakashi couldn't help but smile back. "I told you, I'll go home and then treat my bruised jaw. And like I've said before, if you want to see my face, it's going to take more than that," Kakashi drawled.

"…Darn… and I really wanted to see it too…" she muttered in a disappointed tone.

Kakashi chuckled and Kagome went back to extracting the herb. They both were silent for now so that gave her time to think. Kagome couldn't believe that she would tell Kakashi more about her past, although some parts were true and some parts were untrue; and only on their third encounter.

Well basically, Kagome did live at a shrine back at Water Country.

The Mizukage had made the Higurashi clan in charge of Shrine duties. And not to mention, those from Kagome's mother's side of the family were gifted with miko energy, also known as spiritual energy, although their spiritual energy were not as strong as Kagome's mother, Higurashi Kun Loon. Kun Loon was not really a Higurashi, she just happened to marry into the Higurashi family. She and her family came from a long line of shrine priests and priestesses. And so when she married into the Higurashi clan, she and her family lived together with them.

And so only the people from her side of the family had spiritual energy while those from Kagome's father's side had their Kekkei Genkai.

As for the matter of being a priestess, Kagome had inherited a great deal of her mother's spiritual energy. And Higurashi Kun Loon was the High Priestess of the Shrine, so Kagome had been training to take over as the next High Priestess of the Shrine when she grew up; at least, that was before _that_ happened.

And Lady Kaede really had been Kagome's teacher when she was in priestess training.

Lady Kaede was from Kun Loon's side of the family, and Kagome treated Kaede as if she were her own grandmother. Kagome loved her a lot and Kaede had taught her many things but unfortunately when Kagome massacred her clan, she had to kill Lady Kaede as well. Kagome's eyes went slightly duller as she remembered the past that she tried to put behind her.

About the tragedy that had happened so many years ago…

End chapter

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Thank you PiratekitAG, B.D Gerretson, kakashixangela, iheartanime43, ILoveAnime89, Pure Iciness, crazy guard girl, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Pissed Off Irish Chick, cowgirlkitten2000, SweetDarkSilence, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Smile911, XXmistressdeathXX, hermonine, Smoochynose, merlyn1382, LuLuCrazeD, Bloodcherry, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi and ShiKageKami for reviewing!!!!

I know this wasn't a long chapter, and the ending sucked, but the next chapter will be longer! The next chapter is a flashback, and it tells of the time Kagome killed her clan. Actually I had planned to put these two chapters together, but then it would have been too long.

My updates might not be frequent even though it's the school holidays because I'm on vacation in Nanjing, China. My mom will probably drag me around shopping everywhere. And since Nanjing is a big place, I'm going to die.... X(

Anyway...This chapter has even more Kakashi/Kagome intereaction!! In case some of you are curious when these two are going to get romantically involved with each other... Even I'm not sure! But I can confidently tell you that their official first kiss is not too far away.... Only a few more chapters until their official first kiss....

Please review!


	9. The Sorrowful Past

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 9: The Sorrowful Past

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It was night time in Water Country, and both civilian and Ninja alike were both asleep.

However, in the Higurashi shrine, there was no one asleep and everyone was in a state of panic; because they were slowly being killed off one by one. In the courtyard of the Higurashi Shrine, there was fighting going on. A group of people were all battling against a 10 year old Higurashi Kagome, but still, the odds were against them.

"You traitor!" one of them yelled out in the midst of the fight.

"You're a traitor you stinkin' bitch! Slaughtering your own clan like pigs!" that same person continued to yell at her, but Kagome ignored him and she delivered a kick that sent him flying a few feet away. Then she formed several hand seals.

"Hyouton: Sensatsu no Hyoushou!" she yelled out.

The water vapour in the air was condensed and took the form of needles. Then Kagome used her Wind Affinity to turn the water needles into ice. Then she aimed and sent those needles towards the person that called her a traitor. He didn't have the time to dodge so the needles pierced through his body, instantly killing him.

And all that happened in just a mere few seconds.

Kagome still had a few more opponents to fight, but fortunately they were not Ninja. They were only the priests and priestesses of the shrine, so they couldn't put up much of a fight against her. Kagome saw them cowering in a corner as they saw what she had done to her previous opponent. And they were probably too scared to move. Kagome formed several hand seals "Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu!" yelled Kagome as she expelled a fireball from her mouth.

As it travelled towards her remaining opponents, the fireball slowly took the shape of a dragon's head.

The dragon shaped fireball hit the majority of her opponents and they were burnt alive. Their screams of pain reverberated throughout the Shrine for a few seconds before it grew quiet again. Kagome stared at their dead bodies for a few seconds offering a silent prayer before she turned around and walked away.

They were still more people to kill…

--

The Higurashi Shrine was burning up in flames. The ground was soaked in crimson blood and there was a great stench of death in the air, complete with the smell of burning flesh. There were dead bodies lying everywhere and there was no hints of movement in the courtyard.

Kagome walked silently through the corridors, her senses sharp as she searched for the auras of any survivors.

She held a bloodstained Kunai in her hand; but her hand was trembling and white because she was clutching the bloodstained Kunai with all of her strength. Her face was devoid of emotions but if there was anyone then and there who had the abilities to see within the confines of her heart, then they would see that her heart was slowly breaking into little pieces. She may have acted like killing her clan was nothing, but on the contrary it was not as it seemed.

With each person she killed, she grew guiltier and a little of her soul was destroyed.

Kagome stopped outside the main hall because she sensed some auras inside. Her eyebrows furrowed when she recognized those auras and she bit down her lips so hard that it drew blood to prevent herself from uttering a distressed cry. Why? Why did she have to be the one to kill them too? All her precious people were inside of that room. Kagome really longed to cry now after all that has happened to her but she couldn't.

Ninja weren't allowed to show emotions, especially when they was in the middle of a mission.

With a heavy heart Kagome slid open the Shoji door and stepped inside. Then she slid the door shut and looked around, but the main hall was dark and there was no one to be seen. So she closed her eyes and expanded her senses, trying to find out where they were hiding.

"You know there's no escape for you all," she whispered out to the darkness, knowing full well that they could hear her.

Kagome sensed an aura not too far from where she was, so she made her way towards it. But as she took another step, metal sounded from the shadows and Kagome could see a barrage of Shuriken heading her way. She had triggered a trap. Kagome inwardly cursed and formed some hand seals.

"Mokuton: Moku Shouheki no Jutsu!" she yelled.

Wood rose from the ground, forming a shield around her. The Shuriken pierced the shield and when after a while Kagome undid the shield. "A clever trick Papa," she called out to the shadows "But did you honestly think that a weak attack like that was enough to kill me? Or are you underestimating my abilities?" she asked sarcastically.

A person stepped out from the shadows and shook his head.

"No. But I was hoping it could injure you and slow you down," he replied calmly. Kagome positioned her Kunai and took on a fighting stance. Her father drew a weapon and he did the same. In the next few seconds their weapons clashed and the two were blurs as they moved.

But after a while it was obvious that the older man was no match for his prodigal daughter.

Kagome had managed to puncture a hole in his gut that slowed him down a lot. He was panting heavily while Kagome did not even break a sweat from their fight. "You are not the powerful man you once were Papa," Kagome told him in an emotionless tone as she managed to break one of his legs.

Her father fell to the floor with a thud and he turned to face his daughter.

"I suppose I am," he murmured to himself, before he looked seriously at Kagome "And I also suppose I am not such a great Papa either am I?" His words made Kagome stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes flickered with emotion for a moment before she met his eyes and her father sighed deeply "I can pretty much guess why you're doing all of this Kagome. I'm no fool, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I was the one who dragged you into all of this. You were only a child, and yet I expected so much of you," he sighed deeply.

Kagome's lips quivered as he continued "The Higurashi clan started this rebellion, and now the rebellion ends at the hands of one of our own. I guess you could call this 'You reap what you sow' huh? But no one should ask a child to do this. I'm sorry that you have to be the one to do this Kagome, can you forgive me?" he asked her sincerely.

Kagome nodded stiffly and her father smiled "Thank you," he told her as he closed his eyes, waiting for her to deliver the finishing blow.

Kagome tried to blink back tears and contain whatever emotion that was threatening to show in her eyes again as she delivered a fatal slash to her father's chest. The skin and muscle tissue split apart easily and crimson coloured blood gushed out of his open wound. There was a visible view of his ribcage and internal organs; including his pumping heart. Kagome placed a hand in front of her face to prevent herself from uploading the contents of her stomach.

Her father slumped to the floor, dead.

Kagome forced herself to look away from his corpse and she now readied her Kunai again; this time preparing to kill her mother. Kun Loon had run out of her hiding place when Kagome struck down her husband and she was now crying softly beside his corpse. Kagome continued to approach Kun Loon stealthily. She tried to kill her mother the same way she killed her father; by a fatal slash with her Kunai but Kun Loon instinctively raised her hands to block the attack at the last moment, minimizing the damage.

Now she had a nasty slash on her arm that was bleeding badly.

Even though Kun Loon was a high priestess, she had lost almost all of her spiritual energy so she powerless against a powerful Ninja Priestess like Kagome. She couldn't defend herself much, so she could only look at her helplessly like a trapped puppy, knowing there was no escape for her.

"Kagome, my child, it's me, mama. Why are you doing all of this?" she asked in a broken tone.

Kagome looked at her mother with pain filled eyes "Because I **have** to," she replied sadly, and her mother's eyes widened in realization. "It's all my fault," Kun Loon whispered to herself "I should have never agreed with your Father's plans in the first place. It's all my fault," she sobbed. Kagome shook her head. "No it wasn't. It was my decision to make Mama, and I chose the benefiting option. I'm a pacifist to the end huh?" she asked her mother with a sad smile, which only caused Kun Loon to cry even harder.

The sad smile was still on Kagome's face as she closed her eyes and sighed, mentally preparing her self for what she was going to do.

Then when she opened her eyes again, her face immediately became devoid of emotions again. She took the Kunai near to her face and she gripped it with her teeth. Then she quickly combined her Water and Wind together to form shards of ice.

"Hyouton: Sensatsu no Hyoushou!" she yelled and without hesitation, she sent a barrage of them at her mother.

This time, Kun Loon couldn't possibly fend them all off without a weapon. Most of the ice shards pierced deep into her body, and she fell to the floor, a dying woman. Kun Loon was already turning pale from the blood loss, but if it were even possible, she turned paler when her eyes landed on the two figures standing behind Kagome.

"S-Souta, Ka-Kaede, run away while you still can!! Hurry!" she weakly cried out to them, and in a soft tone that only Kagome could hear, Kun Loon whispered "Kagome, forgive me… and please…as a dying wish…spare Souta…Please let him live…Please…" she begged her daughter and her voice started to grow softer and softer with each second. Kagome shook her head and she took the Kunai from her mouth, and without another word she plunged the Kunai down, stabbing Kun Loon's heart and silencing her forever.

"I'm so sorry Mama, but I'm afraid I can't do that," she whispered inaudibly.

Then she retracted it from Kun Loon's chest and turned around to face the two survivors left from this massacre. Her little brother Souta was staring at her in horror. He had just seen the big sister whom he idolized and loved kill their parents in front of his eyes. He was shivering in fear in Kaede's arms while the old woman was staring at the dead body of Kagome's parents. She shook her head sadly at the scene before looking at Kagome with pain filled eyes.

Souta yelled desperately to his sister "Nee-chan!! Why are you doing this? Why did you kill Papa and Mama?"

Kagome inwardly readied herself to play the part of the villain to them. She had to put up a convincing act in order to lie to the two of them. She didn't want them to know the truth about why she was killing everyone. If they knew the truth; that would only make her feel guiltier than she already was when the time came for her to kill them. The guilt was already bad enough to her just because both of her parents knew the truth.

And not to mention; besides killing everyone in her clan, her mission orders were also to not reveal the truth to anyone; so she couldn't tell them even if she wanted to. So, time to play the past of the bad guy. Hmm, the evil grin in place? Check. Next, the insane look in her eyes? Check. Last but not least, the insane laughter? Check.

Okay, she was good to go.

"What parents?" Kagome snorted "They were only interested in the powers I possessed. They didn't give a shit about me; they only gave a shit about whether I tarnished the name of the clan! It was always '_Kagome this and Kagome that_' and '_You have a duty to the clan_' and '_Do not dishonour the name of the clan!_' Ugh, I was sick of hearing all that! Remember that goody two shoes precious '_Nee-chan_' of yours? I only pretended to be like that," Kagome said without batting an eyelid.

Souta stared at her with wide eyes as she continued "I only pretended to be a kind, caring sister so that Papa would trust me enough and tell me all the clan secrets and teach me all our fighting styles. And once I mastered all of them, I saw no more use for that old fool and his death was inevitable."

"Then why did you kill everyone else?" Kaede asked calmly. Kagome felt her throat go dry but she knew that she had to keep the act going or else it would have all gone to waste.

She didn't obey her orders to this extent only to have it go up in smoke. "If I killed Papa, then of course there would be consequences in the clan. So killing Mother and everyone else was also inevitable, and it gave me a chance to test out my new skills, ignorant old Kaede. Did you see what I did to kill Mother back there? A nifty Jutsu I learned from father" Kagome asked slyly and she jerked her thumb behind her, motioning to her mother who lay dead in her own pool of blood.

Souta had his mouth open in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from his sister.

Kagome took this opportunity to strike. She quickly gathered chakra to her feet and used her 'Shunshin no Jutsu' to appear by Souta's side. She raised her Kunai, ready to deliver her brother a quick and painless death but Kaede pushed him out of the way, so she ended up taking the hit instead. Souta fell to the floor and Kagome decided to take out Kaede first.

She raised her Kunai and was about to strike the old woman when Souta foolishly stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Don't do it Nee-chan!" he screamed but Kagome yanked her arm out of his grip. She curled her fingers and drew back her fist, delivering a hard punch to her brother's face. Souta flew a few feet away from the impact, and he landed on the floor, unconscious.

Kagome then turned her attention back to Kaede, who was staring at her calmly.

"You were ordered by the village right?" Kaede asked her out of the blue. Kagome's weapon stopped in mid air and she forcefully nodded. Kaede sighed deeply "I thought as much. Well I can't say that we don't deserve this fate, after all, our clan was the one that plotted the rebellion first. But I'm sorry that you have to be the one to punish us Kagome. I'm very sorry."

Kagome clenched her fists and she started shaking.

"S-stop it, just stop it!" she yelled out, which surprised Kaede. Tears were starting to stream down Kagome's face as she looked at her old teacher, and all the emotions bottled inside her that had been building up throughout the entire massacre were starting to show in her eyes.

Confusion.

Sadness.

Guilt.

Fear.

Despair.

Pain.

Loss.

"Just stop it Kaede-obaa-san! Why are all of you apologizing for?! Why?! I don't understand! I don't want you all to apologize to me!" Kagome yelled, clutching her head, for images of her family were flashing through her mind; her smiling Father alongside her smiling mother.

"First it was Papa, then Mama and now you? I don't want your apologies! I don't want you to tell me that you're sorry!! I want you all to hate me! To hate me until the moment you die!" she sank to her knees and she let go of the Kunai. It clattered to the ground and Kagome's free hand clutched at her chest, the place over her heart "If you all hate me to the very end, then it won't hurt so much… It hurts a lot Kaede-obaa-san… It really hurts… I feel so guilty… And the pain won't go away… What am I supposed to do…?" Kagome mumbled in a dead tone, the tears continuing to flow.

Kaede stared at Kagome with slightly surprised eyes before a guilty look crossed her face.

Kagome continued to cry and Kaede stared at the bloodstained Kunai lying innocently on the floor. A thought crossed her mind and she looked at the still crying Kagome. No, she simply could not allow that child to destroy herself anymore than she already has.

Kaede smiled sadly as took the Kunai and she held it over her heart.

"Kagome, you are the brightest student that I have ever taught. But while you are a powerful fighter, you also have a heart as fragile as glass. And as your teacher, I hope that you don't have to suffer like this anymore in the future. No one should have to go through this type of pain ever in their lifetime…No one. I hope that someday you can find happiness again, that someday you can find someplace that brings you happiness you want; that you can find someone who can give you the happiness you need," she told Kagome in a sad tone

Kagome looked up in confusion upon hearing the old woman's words, and she saw what Kaede was about to do. Her eyes widened in horror as she met Kaede's gaze. The old woman smiled and closed her eyes, before stabbing her heart with the Kunai.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Kagome's scream could be heard throughout the Shrine. She stared at Kaede's dead body in horror, now crying harder than ever. Why?! Why?! Why?! She kept thinking over and over again in her mind. Why did this have to happen? To her? To do something this horrible? What wrongs did she commit in her previous life to have to be the one who slaughters her entire family? What wrongs did she do to have to feel this much pain? What?!

A groan snapped her out of her thoughts.

It was then that Kagome remembered her brother was still alive. She stared at his unconscious form with dead eyes for a moment. She still had a mission to do…and after she accomplished that mission, she could torture herself as much as she wanted. She was free to even kill herself after she accomplished the mission.

Kagome stood up and she dragged herself over to where her brother lay.

Then she took out a Kunai from her weapon's pouch and knelt down beside his unconscious form. Her hands were shaking terribly already and she cursed silently. Come on, it was just ONE more person to kill; she just had to take ONE more life before her mission would be all over.

Kagome raised the Kunai and closed her eyes, not wishing to see the moment she killed her brother. Then she brought to Kunai down on his head, but instead of hearing blood splattering and hitting a mushy surface, Kagome hit a hard surface and there was a dull 'thunk' where her Kunai hit. Kagome frowned in confusion and she opened her eyes; only to end up cursing some more. The Kunai was lodged in the wooden flooring, near to Souta's face.

She had missed…

She had never missed before, so why was her aim off now? Could it be because she couldn't bear to kill him? But she had to! She would be disobeying orders of she didn't kill him! Some words rang inside Kagome's head over and over again "_Kagome, forgive me… and please…as a dying wish…spare Souta…Please let him live…Please…_"

Her mother's dying words to her…

Kagome stared at her unconscious brother some more, before she realized that she couldn't bear to kill her brother. She wanted to honour her mother's dying words. "All right then Mama, you win," she whispered with a sigh. She smiled sadly at her brother, before gently ruffling his hair. "I'm sorry that you had to see me murder everyone like this. You're only 4 and no one your age should have to see this traumatizing experience," Kagome apologized inaudibly. Then she stood up and turned to leave the room, but another groan made her stop.

It seems her brother had woken up.

Souta sat up and rubbed his bruised jaw. He blinked and tried to focus his gaze, and when his eyesight got used to the dark room, he took a look around the room. He froze in terror when he noticed the dead bodies of his parents and Kaede. Tears started to gather in his eyes and he looked at Kagome, choking out a sob. Kagome turned away from him and she started to walk away. But she paused when she heard some metallic sounds coming from behind her.

Souta appears to have discovered the Kunai she had left behind.

Kagome took out another Kunai from her weapon's pouch and she quickly turned around, just in time to stop Souta's attack. She blinked in surprise when she noticed all traces of fear gone from her brother's face, only to be replaced by anger and hatred. Kagome grabbed on to her brother's arm and she sent a burst of miko energy into his body, paralyzing him.

Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered "Live."

Souta's eyes widened as Kagome repeated her words "Live, and train hard. When you think you're strong enough to defeat me, then come and seek me out. We shall see whether you will be able to kill me and restore the glory to our clan. If you aren't able to defeat me, then it's your funeral." Kagome slowly backed away from him with a sadistic smile on her face, but when she turned around the smile disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of sorrow.

"I'm sorry," she muttered inaudibly, and she left the Higurashi Shrine, with the sole intent of seeking the Mizukage out.

Later on Kagome had to go on her knees and beg him to spare her brother's life, but the stubborn Mizukage wouldn't agree. The uneasiness he felt in his heart wouldn't go away because of the fact that there was still one more person left alive from the massacre, and that the two survivors happened to be the Clan Head's children.

Kagome had to use blackmail to get him to agree.

She had told him that if he wouldn't let Souta stay here and be safe, then she would have left the village and revealed everything she knew about the village and more. She had even suggested that she would have joined another village and use her abilities to fight against the Land of Water.

The Mizukage had no choice but to agree, but on the condition that Kagome never set foot in Kirigakure so Sato ever again.

Kagome agreed, and she left Kirigakure just as soon as the sun started to rise. And true to her word, she never once returned to her village. Although thanks to Itachi and Kisame, she was still able to keep regular tabs on her brother.

Souta is 22 now and he was elevated to Jounin status 4 years ago, when he was 18.

He was doing fine after Kagome left and he was considered another prodigy of the Higurashi clan. He had an affinity for both Water and Wind, so naturally he could combine them to make Ice. But if he were to fight against Kagome, then the results would be obvious.

He would lose without a doubt.

So not wanting to kill her brother, Kagome had avoided him for years on end and their last encounter had been 4 years ago, at the time she was 24. Kagome had to pretend to want to kill him when she had met him again. And just because she didn't want to kill her brother, it didn't mean that she couldn't kick his ass. They fought, and when she won she left him alive; saying that he still wasn't strong enough to defeat her. Although she didn't kill him, she did manage to injure him rather badly.

And from what Kagome had heard; she had managed to land Souta in the hospital for a month.

End chapter

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Thank you Pure Iciness, iheartanime43, kakashixangela, 4get me not, Smoochynose, LuLuCrazeD, cowgirlkitten2000, Yorukifon, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, Bloodcherry, merlyn1382, omica21, Your Avenging Angel, j.d.y., Princess Fey, AnimeMixDJ, Gaara's Only Luver and Random Person for reviewing!

Okay I just realized that I haven't updated in the longest time. Well I apologize I was on Holiday in Nanjing for the whole month and so I didn't really have the time to update much less write. Anyway, the next chapter goes back to the present^^

Please review!


	10. Tag

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 10: Tag

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Now, Kagome was not aware of the fact that Kakashi was waving his hand in front of her face. If she did, she would have smacked his hand away and smile innocently at him. She also did not know that he had seen the distant look in her eyes and he grew curious and or worried about her weird behaviour. Well you couldn't blame him; Kagome had looked terribly sad as she was lost in her thoughts. When Kakashi still did not manage to get her attention, he finally used the last resort; to break the compromise they had.

"Kagome-sama, are you in there?" Kakashi asked, and even knocked her head gently.

Kagome blinked and snapped out of her thoughts, even using her hand to grab a hold of Kakashi's hand, to make sure that he would stop that insistent knocking on her head. Then as his words processed in her head, she smiled and replied "Yes Kaka-kun?"

Kakashi sighed inaudibly "I thought we said that there would be no need for the honorifics or the nicknames?"

Kagome stood up and she put her hand under her chin, pretending to think. "That's true…" her voice trailed off thoughtfully. She started to lean closer to him and Kakashi swallowed thickly at the close contact before he tried to edge away from her. But his body just wouldn't move as fast as he wanted it to, and Kakashi mentally cursed at this. Soon they were a few inches away from each other's face and Kagome could feel Kakashi's cool breath blowing at her face.

Then unexpectedly, she poked Kakashi on his forehead in a way similar to Itachi's. Kagome had picked up this habit from Itachi a few years ago because sometimes he would poke her forehead just for the fun of it and tell her '_Sorry, maybe next time,_' whenever he couldn't fulfil any promises to her.

Kakashi blinked at her and Kagome smiled mischievously "That was for calling me Kagome-sama! Did you think that I didn't hear that?"

Then she started to back away from him slowly, before grabbing her basket and finally turning around, running away and giggling playfully. "Catch me if you can Kakashi!" she sang out in a playful tone before she disappeared through the trees.

Kakashi could only stare at her departing figure, before a small smile appeared on his face.

Kagome sped silently through the trees, the wind whipping at her feet. She hid behind a tree and waited, sometimes poking her head out to see if Kakashi was following her. When she didn't see him, she sighed and turned around, ready to go back and find him. But she ended up bumping heads with Kakashi and she fell to her knees, her head spinning out of control.

"Ow," she muttered, her hand rubbing the back of her head.

When her vision finally stopped seeing double, Kagome looked up and she could see that Kakashi was standing upside-down on the tree branch. He was no doubt channelling his chakra to his feet. Ah… so that was why she bumped heads with him.

Kakashi creased his eye "You can never outrun a Ninja Kagome," he drawled playfully.

Then he stopped the chakra flow to his feet and somehow manoeuvred his body in midair, so that he landed gracefully onto the ground. Kakashi extended his hand towards Kagome and she took it gladly. He helped her up with relative ease and she dusted off the dirt on her clothes. "You can't blame a girl for trying can you Kakashi?" she asked with a shrug, and then she frowned when she noticed something "And why does this scenario feel like our first meeting all over again?"

Kakashi chuckled and replied "It does, doesn't it? But there are slight differences here; like this time I wasn't reading my book, and we also aren't arguing about a silly matter like the last time."

Kagome rolled her eyes and muttered "It _wasn't_ a silly matter…" then she sighed "Well I suppose you're probably wondering what that poke was just now…" her voice trailed off and she glanced at Kakashi, noticing that she had caught his attention. "So anyway…I called you by your nickname just now because you broke our compromise first. But you ended up calling me by my nickname so I poked your forehead as a punishment. Get it now?"

Kakashi nodded and his shoulders visibly slumped.

Kagome noticed his little action and the gears in her head started to turn. She smirked "What? Are you disappointed? Don't tell me you thought that I was going to kiss you just now like the last time? You pervert," she told him in a teasing tone. Kagome expected Kakashi to throw a witty comeback at her so they could start their playful bantering again. But instead she saw his eye widen and the skin that was not covered by his mask turned slightly red.

He was blushing underneath his mask.

Kagome almost dropped her basket in shock and she felt her face turning incredibly hot. Damn it now _she_ was the one blushing! There was an awkward silence between the two of them for the next minute; Kakashi was trying not to look at Kagome while she was at a loss at what to say to him.

But finally when the silence became too tense for the both of them, Kagome decided to say something.

"Umm…Shall we continue our herb gathering?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. But she inwardly winced at what words came out of her mouth. Oh, that was a clever way to break the silence between them…NOT! Kagome chided herself for her stupidity and she mentally smacked herself. Kakashi, who didn't know about her mental battle with herself, just nodded and Kagome heaved a silent sigh of relief.

She frowned as she looked around for a while.

"Um… Kakashi…? Do you happen to know which direction we came from? Everything looks all the same to me," Kagome said with a nervous laugh. Kakashi pointed to her right and he started walking towards that direction. Kagome stared at his departing figure for a while and her eyes automatically travelled downwards to…guess where?

'_His ass looks even nicer when it's moving…_' she found herself thinking with a lovesick sigh.

But then she realized WHAT she had been thinking about again and she snapped out of her thoughts, her face turning redder with each passing second. '_Very smart thoughts Kagome…Now who is the real pervert here?_' her mind asked her. But Kagome ignored it and instead ran to catch up to Kakashi.

"Hey wait for me Kakashi! Don't leave without me!" she called.

* * *

The two of them spent the whole morning and half of the afternoon finding and collecting all of the different herbs. Well, basically Kakashi only helped her to locate the herbs; Kagome still had to do the job of extracting them. She was the one with medical knowledge between the two after all.

Then when they were done they walked back to the village together.

But they weren't holding hands or anything. The events of today were still replaying in both their minds so it was still a little awkward between them. And anyway, Kakashi's hands were in his pockets while her hands were occupied carrying the heavy basket full of the different herbs.

And the reason why Kakashi didn't just teleport Kagome and him self back to Konoha was because she had asked him not to. She DID not want him to wrap his arms around her waist again; it was still too soon! Just standing less than a metre away from him now made her feel all awkward and funny inside. And just now when she accidentally brushed her hand against his, her heart started beating like crazy and a deep blush appeared on her face.

See what she meant about things still being slightly awkward between them?

And besides, Kagome told Kakashi that he could teleport back to Konoha if he didn't want to walk back, but she wanted to walk back for the exercise. But surprisingly, Kakashi had just creased his eye at her and he offered to escort her back. "Well, if you want to walk back, I'd better accompany you. Who knows what might happen on the way back if you travel alone? You might really encounter Missing Ninjas or robbers," he had told her in a relaxed voice.

At that moment, Kagome knew that he was pretending that that incident didn't ever happen, so she should also do the same.

"Very well then Kakashi. But are you going to charge me for your services? I'm afraid I have nothing to pay the Great Copy Ninja with, unless you accept herbs? Or maybe you want a free stay the next time you end up in the hospital?" she asked in a playful tone, and she mentally heaved a sigh of relief.

That had gone well; she had talked to Kakashi again like nothing had ever happened between them.

Kakashi creased his eye "I think I'm going to have to decline the free hospital stay Kagome. I don't really like hospitals that much. And no payment is really required for my escort. My offer is free of charge and since you have the Great Sharingan no Kakashi escorting you why waste this offer?"

Kagome smiled and said softly "Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what she had said. Darn, now she was the one who had broken the compromise. Kakashi seemed to notice it what she had said too because he had that playful glint in his eye. "You're welcome Gome-chan," he purred seductively. Kagome winced at that ridiculous nickname before she sent a full out glare to Kakashi.

"You're the spawn of evil," she growled with a pout.

Kakashi chuckled quietly "I know I am. I hear that quite a lot at the hospital. But if I'm not mistaken, you were the one broke our compromise, so I have the right to call you your nickname to punish you." Kagome continued to send a death glare at him and she muttered colourful curses under her breath as they walked back to Konoha.

To say Kakashi was surprised at her knowledge of swear words was just the right term.

"Really Kagome, I never expected a woman like you to know that much swear words. You should learn to mind your language; you're a girl for heaven's sake. And girls shouldn't be swearing like there is no tomorrow," he chided her, which in turn led her to mutter even more swear words. You'd be surprised if you found out how much cuss words Kagome knew. That's the kind of results she got because she had hung around Hidan too much.

And for a religious man, that guy knew how to curse.

Kagome almost burst out into a giggle when she imagined what would happen to Hidan if Itachi had found out all the words she had picked up from him; if Itachi was feeling benevolent he might just use Tsukuyomi on Hidan, but if he was pissed enough then he would use Amaterasu for sure.

Kagome was sure that the immortal guy wouldn't be so immortal once Itachi was through with him.

Very soon, Kagome caught sight of the gates and it took them a good 15 minutes just to reach it by walking. As they passed through the gates, the two Chunin on duty there greeted them. Kagome blinked when she remembered that those two were the Chunin she met on her first day here.

"Hi you two, I'm afraid that I didn't quite catch your names on my first day here. My name is Takahashi Kagome," Kagome said with a sweet smile.

The chunin with the bandages nose blushed at Kagome's smile and he replied in a nervous tone "My name is Hagane Kotetsu, and this is Kamizuki Izumo." The other Chunin, Izumo, was also blushing and he nodded "Hi Takahashi-san."

"Call me Kagome," she told them.

Izumo and Kotetsu nodded and their eyes couldn't help but trail up and down Kagome's body. Their blush deepened as they noticed the thin sheen of sweat that had formed on her peachy coloured skin, especially on her chest. But they couldn't help it; it was her fault for wearing such revealing clothes.

Kagome inwardly sighed at the intense stare that the two were giving her body. Here we go again…

Kakashi also seemed to notice where his fellow Ninja were staring at and he felt some jealousy bubbling in him. But he couldn't do anything that would hurt them so Kakashi only cleared his throat and told her "Kagome, we should get going."

But his words seemed to be a fatal mistake because a mischievous grin spread on Izumo and Kotetsu's faces. "Wow Kakashi-senpai, I didn't know you and Kagome-san were so close already; imagine that, you said her name without any formalities. Did you make her your girlfriend already? You both look a little out of sorts. Did you have 'fun' in the forest? Is the wedding soon? Please invite us if it is!" Kotetsu said with a cheeky smile.

Kagome's cheeks started to turn red from embarrassment. Oh how she felt like wrapping her hands around their scrawny necks and strangling them to death! She would take pleasure as she slowly watched their faces turn blue from the lack of oxygen.

Kakashi's reaction was not as severe as hers; he only choked in surprise before saying in a clear voice "Kagome is just a friend."

Kagome, who was beside him, nodded with an embarrassed smile on her face; and she tried to push back the feeling of disappointment she was feeling when he said that. "Is she now? Come on Kakashi-senpai, why are you so shy to admit it?" Kotetsu asked in a teasing tone. Izumo beside him suppressed a nervous laugh as he elbowed Kotetsu in the ribs. Kotetsu gave him a glare but he looked curiously at Kakashi when Izumo pointed at the Copy Ninja.

Kakashi was looking at them seriously with his half closed eye.

"Kotetsu, please don't tease us anymore. I am asking you nicely here. Or maybe instead you want me to ask you in a forceful way; like say promise to perform a Genjutsu on you to make you stop? How about unleashing my Sharingan or maybe using Raikiri or Chidori on your asses until they roast to a crisp? Or perhaps a nice decapitation is in order?" Kotetsu and Izumo gulped with each threat and Kakashi creased his eye at them "So now you understand what happens when you want me to use force?"

The two of them nodded hastily and Kakashi's tone became light again "There, now that wasn't so hard! I'm glad we're all seeing eye to eye now." Then he turned to Kagome "Shall we be off then?" he asked and Kagome was at a loss for words here, so she nodded slowly.

Once they were far enough Kagome burst out laughing.

Kakashi eyed her curiously for a moment "Is there something wrong?" he asked. Kagome shook her head and she smiled at him playfully "It's nothing. I just didn't realize that you could be so threatening. Did you see how badly you scared the both of them? They looked like they were going to wet themselves!"

Kakashi shrugged, obviously pleased with himself "I try."

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Thank you Pure Iciness, j.d.y., AnimeMixDJ, Taeniaea, iheartanime43, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, VirusYoukaiChild, Aashni, Random Person, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, Shawntay117, kakashixangela, gf, BuNeng-TiaoWu, merlyn1382, hermonine, LuLuCrazeD, enchanted nightingale, ryuuhime88, Rhiannon's blackbird and crystal wings5 for reviewing!

Well I just realized I haven't updated in the longest time. ^.^'

So sorry about that. I was busy trying to finish 'Love Actually' and it's still not finished. *Sighs* but it's going to finish soon. There's more Kakashi/Kagome interaction in this chapter and it seems pretty boring. and the next chapter is entirely new, it wasn't in the previous version but I think you readers might enjoy it.

I'll give you a hint. Kakashi: A handsome patient. Kagome: His personal sexy doctor. What more could a Ninja ask for? I believe Kakashi is in Heaven. And here's a spoiler; their relationship is going to change slightly because of a little something they shared.

Please review!


	11. Hospital Stay

**A New 'Leaf'**

Disclaimer: I don't and will never own Inuyasha or Naruto, and if I do own those, then Jiraiya is not a pervert, Jiraiya, Itachi and Minato all wouldn't have died, Kakashi would NEVER wear his mask and Sasuke wouldn't be such an Emo asshole.

Chapter 11: Hospital Stay

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A week had passed since Kagome's last meeting with Copy Ninja Kakashi.

After he had sent her back to the hospital, he was gone in a puff of smoke and Kagome didn't see him again. And what Naruto could tell her; it seems that Kakashi had been given a solo high ranking mission as soon as he left her. So the past week had been rather quiet without him, and Kagome couldn't say that she missed their constant, playful bantering.

She was also worried for him.

Despite Kakashi's reputation as the famed Copy Ninja, from what she gathered by the hospital staff, Kakashi had always managed to land himself in the hospital 80 percent of the time after high ranking missions with either serious injuries, poison in his system and most of the time chakra exhaustion. Kagome would have loved to go out and look for him if there was still no news of him, but since she was leading a new non-Ninja life in Konoha, she could only wait until he returned from his mission.

Also, one of the perks about working as a doctor in the hospital was that she would know pretty quickly if Kakashi was admitted. The news around here travelled fast.

And with that mindset, Kagome had managed to toil through the week; treating patients, curing illnesses and desperately keeping an ear out for the latest news. Kagome was now in her office at the hospital during her lunch break, looking through some of her patient's medical records while she snacked on a chocolate muffin.

Due to some umm…'_circumstances_', Kagome was always busy whenever she worked her shift at the hospital. She was always busy whether it was treating patients or conducting research. She rarely had any free time to take a breather or to even sip coffee for a few minutes when she was in the hospital. It seems that she was the most sought out _civilian_ doctor in Konoha hospital either because of her beauty to the males or her wide range of medicinal knowledge to the other doctors.

Kagome looked up from her reading as she heard a knock on her door. She forcefully swallowed her mouthful of muffin and took a sip of coffee to wash it down before she called out "Come in." The door clicked open and in stepped a hesitant nurse.

"Yes?" Kagome asked politely as she looked up from the medical report.

The nurse looked rather nervous, and she stuttered as she spoke to Kagome. "I-I'm sorry for interrupting Takahashi-sensei, but I've got a bit of a trouble causing patient who says that he doesn't want to be treated by anybody else except for Tsunade-sama. He's a Ninja you know. But Tsunade-sama is busy and there are no available doctors now, so I was hoping you could help us out?" Kagome smiled despite sensing something suspicious about her aura and she nodded at the nurse.

"Sure, I'll help. But if his wounds are too serious for me to treat then you should really consult a Medic Nin."

The nurse bowed in a hurry "Hai! Thank you so much!" she gushed obviously pleased, the sugar coating her tone of voice. Kagome noted the nurse's behaviour and she putting the two and two together, she inwardly sighed. She could already guess what this nurse was planning. Usually most of the female nurses or doctors in the hospital, except for a select few, hated her guts because they think she snatched away their patients. But seriously, what person in their right mind would want to treat patients non-stop?

If Kagome had not been a powerful Kunoichi before she came to Konoha; she was sure that she would have died of overwork or fallen sick because of her long hours working at the hospital.

Ah…could it be that the nurses were having trouble with this particular Ninja patient and that they wanted Kagome to treat him so that she would suffer under his wrath? …It figures…But never mind that now, if the Ninja patient were to give her hell, then she would give him hell too. Kagome stood up and quickly put on her doctor's coat, before she hurriedly followed the nurse out of her office. The nurse led her swiftly through the corridors and Kagome made use of the silence to ask more about the Ninja patient.

"Do you have his charts? What's his health status?" she asked.

"It's in his room, and he's not in any critical condition," the nurse replied as a matter-of-factly, and Kagome noticed that now she had a smug smile on her face. The nervous demeanour that the nurse had displayed only a few minutes ago was gone, so that only proves that Kagome's assumption was right. Kagome blew a stray strand of hair from her face in an annoyed fashion that was unseen by the nurse. Well that was helpful…not.

"Can I at least know the patient's name?" she asked.

The nurse opened her mouth to give Kagome an answer, but she closed it again because they had reached their destination, and she had decided that she would let Kagome find out by herself. Kagome stood silently outside the room and she found herself blinking in surprise.

Kagome recognized this aura…

A small flush found its way on her cheeks and she entered the room without a second thought; wanting to confirm if the patient was who she thought it was as soon as possible. The Ninja patient was sitting on the hospital bed doing some light reading and his Hitae-ate was laid out nicely on the table. This was what the nurse called a trouble patient? He looked plain innocent just sitting there.

The Ninja patient looked up from his book when he noticed he had company.

"Do you have Tsunade-sama with you?" he asked. The nurse bit back an irritated frown. "Tsunade-sama is busy right now. And if you expect me to go call our Hokage to treat you just because you requested so, then I would have to call her at least a hundred times a day if it was the same for everyone," she complained.

The Ninja's eyebrow rose in amusement as she said that. "I'm not just anyone. Do you know who you are talking to?" he asked her in a bemused tone.

The nurse nodded impatiently as she looked at him "Yes, you're Hatake Kakashi. And I don't care if you're a Jounin but you're going to be given the same treatment as every other patient in this hospital. I've brought you another doctor and you better treat her like how you've been treating the rest of the doctors." _Yeah, you'd better give this woman hell like you've been giving all the other doctors so far… _the nurse added silently to her self.

"Here's Takahashi-sensei," the nurse said, and she motioned to Kagome standing by the door. The patient looked at Kagome and he found himself smiling.

"Yo!" he said happily. Kagome smiled weakly and the nurse smirked, believing that her plan was going to work. "I'll leave you to Takahashi-sensei then," she said, before she left the room. The patient's gaze followed as she left the door and after a moment he asked "Is that nurse new around here?"

Kagome blinked in surprise for a moment, before she pondered on her answer "Hmm…I think she started working here not too long after me. Why?"

"Ah…that would explain why she didn't listen to my request. Almost everybody here would know that I'm privileged enough to get treated by Tsunade-sama every time I end up in the hospital," he said with a bored sigh and Kagome found herself giggling.

"Maybe we should set up a program to educate our new staff to recognize the great _Sharingan no Kakashi_ when he ends up in the hospital," she teased.

Kakashi creased his eye "Maybe the hospital should. And you could be the one to suggest it to them." Kagome found her smile growing wider as she realized that she was enjoying his company again. "Welcome back Kakashi," she told him a little breathlessly.

Kakashi nodded at her and she distinctly heard him mumble "It's good to be back…"

She made her way to the foot of his bed and picked up his medical charts. Her eyes quickly scanned the words. "So what's the diagnosis?" he asked her with fake worry. "I'm afraid I don't have much money to pay for my medical bills."

"Liar," she instantly countered, a smile on her lips.

"From what I've heard from Naruto and Sakura, you're pretty much of a cheapskate and you always go on high ranking missions, so I think you should be loaded with money." Then she smiled "But…I did promise you a free stay at the hospital the next time you end up here. So you can get a free stay for this and we'll call it even. And anyway, your condition is nothing serious. You've got some injuries; both outer and internal, a case of chakra exhaustion, some poison in your system, but nothing a good rest and healing won't solve."

Kakashi sighed "How long do I have to stay here?"

Kagome sensed his unhappiness and she asked "What's wrong, you don't like hospitals?" At Kakashi's sad look she laughed softly; he really reminded her of an unhappy puppy then and there. "Relax; you only have to stay here for 2 days, 3 at the most." Kakashi sighed again, before he looked at her hopefully. "Then can I request to be treated by only you?" he asked.

Kagome blushed a deep crimson "Why would you want that?" she asked shyly.

Kakashi smiled mysteriously "Tsunade-sama is the only person in this hospital who has seen my face and she might kill me if I bother her too much. And if I need to get treated by someone in this hospital, I'd much prefer you to any other nurse or doctor. So can you be my personal doctor for my stay?"

Kagome pretended to be in deep thought "Hmm…You would have to wait in line because my schedule is all taken up. I'd say the earliest I'll be free is by next week."

Then she giggled when she saw the look of horror on Kakashi's face. "Although…" her voice trailed off suggestively "I think I can make an exception for you. I can swap my patients with some of the other doctors and that would make me your doctor for your stay here. I'm sure they would be more than happy to leave me with the trouble patient. But if I have to become your doctor, then you better be on your best behaviour. I've heard a lot from Sakura and Shizune that you become the staff's worse nightmare whenever you get admitted into the hospital."

Kakashi smiled innocently "Little old me?"

Kagome didn't look convinced by his innocent act which only pleased Kakashi more. "I swear Kakashi, if you so much as make my job difficult; I will personally give you hell. I can purposely make even the simplest of medical treatments very, very painful for you. So I'm not a person you should mess with." Kakashi didn't look fazed and he only creased his eye at her "Relax Kagome; the only people I mess are the people that are easy to manipulate."

Kagome raised her brow at this and Kakashi continued "And I can see that you're not an easy person to manipulate," he informed her happily.

She rolled her eyes at him before she smiled "Right…so, what do you think?" she asked him, and motioned for her choice of hospital wear "Do I look like professional enough?" Kagome had on her regular long white sleeved shirt with a tight black skirt that reached to her mid thighs complete with her doctor's coat and a stethoscope around her neck.

Kakashi pondered for a moment "You look like the female lead character from Icha Icha," he replied honestly.

Kagome blushed when she heard that "Do you really like to tease me that much?" she mumbled to herself. Kakashi heard her little comment and he creased his eye "Teasing you has recently become my main source of entertainment. And I was not teasing you; I was simply making an observation." then he mumbled happily when the thought occurred to him "Ah, a woman who dresses like the female lead for Icha Icha as my doctor, what more can I ask for?"

Kagome ignored him and she pulled up a chair beside him.

She sat down and continued to look at his charts for a few minutes. Then she put his charts on the bedside table and cracked her knuckles "Right, I just memorised your charts so I'm going to start healing you. Anywhere you would like me to start first?" she asked.

"Internal injuries would be good," was Kakashi's reply.

Kagome smiled sheepishly at his logical answer "Right. Sorry, I'm complied to ask because every patient has different preferences and different pain tolerant levels etc. Now I'm not going to use healing chakra to heal you; I'm afraid I don't have that since I'm not a Ninja. So we're going to have to work with miko energy, and miko energy is just raw spiritual energy, so it might feel different from healing chakra. Now would you be kind enough as to take off your shirt?" she asked.

Kakashi sighed and nodded "But close the door first," he told her.

Kagome stood up and made her way to the door. She slid it shut and turned around, only to have her jaw drop in shock. A light blush stained her cheeks as she found herself staring at Kakashi's face. There were a lot of rumours about how he looked like; some saying he looked really ugly with buck teeth or a hair lip or even fish lips while others said he looked attractive, but now Kagome could see that rumours were just rumours.

Kakashi was downright gorgeous!

Kakashi raised his brow when he noticed her reaction "What?" he asked innocently. Kagome shook her head "Nothing. I just wasn't expecting you to look like _this_. I mean from what Naruto told me; he guessed that maybe you had buck teeth, fish lips or even a hair lip. And from what Ayame told me she said you were handsome; I just didn't know _this_ handsome."

Kakashi was obviously pleased with himself from that comment.

Kagome noticed the smug expression on his face because he wasn't wearing his mask and all, so she rolled her eyes "But having good looks doesn't give you the right to be boastful about it, so wipe that smug expression of your face," she told him dryly. Kakashi looked a bit taken aback at her sudden change of attitude and a few seconds passed before he regained his composure. It was strange for him; no one else who had seen his face ever reacted like she did.

Kagome made her way back to his bedside and that was when she realized that Kakashi was sitting on his bed, _half-naked_ and without his mask.

She devoured the sight of his lean but pale build, and she resisted the urge to drool, blush or whistle at the sight of his muscles; and Kakashi had a good six pack too. She had just said something cool to him damn it; so she certainly wasn't going to do anything stupid to ruin it; that would have made her a pervert in his eyes.

She cleared her throat uneasily, refusing to meet his gaze and her fingers delicately brushed his skin.

Kakashi suppressed a shiver as her cool fingers brushed his skin. His mind was tracing back all that had happened after he had left for his mission. The solo mission had gone rather well even though he still had met some enemies on the way. He had finished the mission only late last night and returned to Konoha early this morning and when he entered through those gates the only thing that was on his mind was to go and see Kagome. But he had to go and report to Tsunade first. And when she cleared him of his mission, Kakashi was about to do so when she dragged his ass to the hospital.

Literally.

Tsunade was aware of Kakashi's dislike of hospitals, but his wounds were not to be taken lightly since there was some poison in his system. So she literally dragged the Copy Ninja to the hospital and she even ordered him to stay there for a couple of days. Then she left because she was busy with paperwork. Kakashi had to stay in bed and he wouldn't let another person besides Tsunade treat him, so he just waited and caused a little terror to the staff. He didn't expect a nurse to go and bring the person that he wanted to see most; Kagome.

And now she was going to be his doctor for the rest of his stay here…yes life could be sweet…

Kakashi snapped out his thoughts when he felt some unusual energy entering his body. He guessed that it was the miko energy that Kagome spoke of, and he was surprised to see that the energy was pinkish white instead of the usual green healing chakra. It was pink to signify its purity and Kakashi felt oddly calm as the energy was healing his body. He remained silent throughout the healing and he only gazed at Kagome with an unknown emotion in his eye.

When Kagome finished healing the most of his injuries, she traced his skin again and asked "Feeling any pain?"

Kakashi shook his head and she smiled "Well that's good. Now we're going have to do something about the poison. Unfortunately when I checked the charts it stated that the poison is unknown, so there's no antidote for you yet. They're trying to make an antidote now so that's why Tsunade-sama stated on your charts that you have to stay here for a few days." Then she smiled mysteriously "But who needs an antidote when you have me around? With my miko energy, I can purify any poison, even the poison in your blood for you. And you can be discharged earlier."

Kakashi brightened up at the thought and he smiled "Even if you purify my poison, I would still like to stay here for a few days. That can give me an excuse to take a break from missions and I can even pester you and terrorize your colleagues."

Kagome smiled before she told him "All right then. I look forward to see what chaos you can cause at the hospital without being murdered by Tsunade-sama. And try not to protest when I purify your poison. It might be slightly uncomfortable and a little painful for you because I have to injure you. In order for me to purify the poison in your body, my miko energy has to come into contact with your blood, and once I channel my miko energy into your bloodstream, it could take a few hours for the poison to be completely cleared out."

Then without another word she swiftly took his hand and bit his thumb, drawing blood. This action surprised Kakashi.

She was so close to him now that he could smell her luscious scent. Kagome drew back and she gently touched the blood that was flowing from his thumb. Then she channelled her miko energy into his bloodstream and Kakashi felt a warm tingling sensation encompass his body as the miko energy travelled through.

A light blush was on Kagome's cheeks as she healed him and Kakashi knew it was best to keep quiet for the moment.

When she was done she healed the wound and said softly, refusing to meet his gaze "Sorry about that." Kakashi didn't respond and he was only focused on the blood that was on the corner of Kagome's mouth. So he gently used his hand to push Kagome's face up; making her look at him. Then his thumb gently brushed the blood off the corner of her mouth and this action only made Kagome's blush deepen.

They both looked intently at each other and Kagome realized the close proximity of their faces.

She was also aware of the fact that she and Kakashi were closing the distance between them, but she did not protest and back away. Instead, she continued to stare intently at him, and sometimes her eyes would flicker to his lips for a moment before meeting his gaze again. They were now so close that she could feel his cool breath on her face. Kakashi placed his hand under her chin and Kagome parted her lips slightly, eyes still flickering glances to his lips.

Then when Kagome was close enough she closed her eyes and her lips gently brushed against his.

Kakashi felt her soft lips on his own and he closed his eyes, feeling the butterflies in his stomach. Their kiss was gentle and Kakashi instinctively used placed his hand behind Kagome's head. Kagome couldn't help but place her hands against his chest and their noses bumped into each others.

They were so caught up in the kiss that neither wanted it to end.

But a knock from the door made them realize what they were doing. Both Kagome's and Kakashi's eyes snapped opened in surprise and they immediately parted the kiss. Kagome had a furious blush on her face and they both stared awkwardly at each other. The knocking at the door continued and this time and impatient voice rang out.

"Damn it Hatake can I come in or not?!"

Kagome recognized that stern voice. It belonged to Tsunade. She gave a small yelp and began straightening herself up. Kakashi quickly put on his mask and he waited for a few seconds before he called in a lazy tone "Yes Tsunade-sama."

The door slid open and Tsunade stepped in with a scowl on her beautiful face.

"What took you so damn long Hatake?" she barked as she glared at him. Kakashi chuckled nervously "Well I was busy." Tsunade took a look at him before she noticed Kagome. "Oh Kagome you're here?" she asked in a surprised tone.

Kagome stood up and she bowed politely "Hai Tsunade-sama. The nurses asked me to treat him since he's been giving them some trouble."

Tsunade gave Kakashi the evil glare of doom which made him shrink back in fear slightly. "And has the brat been giving you trouble?" she asked in a low tone. Kagome shook her head and Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Kakashi.

"Oh really? Then why do you look so flushed?" she asked in a suspicious tone.

Kagome couldn't possibly tell Tsunade that she and Kakashi had been kissing only few minutes ago! So she settled on this excuse. "Well I wasn't expecting Kakashi to look …umm…handsome under his mask. And I suppose I'm not the first person to behave like this when I see his face?" she asked.

Tsunade blinked, surprised at the fact that Kakashi would show Kagome his face, before she smiled "Well you do have a point there. So did you treat Kakashi?"

Kagome nodded "Yes I did. I've healed his injuries, both internal and outer, and I've currently I'm getting rid of the poison in his system." This statement made Tsunade raise her brow in curiosity. "Oh, so you've already given him the antidote. I was not aware that they've given it to you. I thought that I was the only person whom they gave it to." Kagome smiled and politely shook her head "I didn't give him an antidote Tsunade-sama. I just channelled my miko energy into his bloodstream it will slowly purify the poison just like a typical antidote."

And seeing Tsunade's confused expression, Kagome added "Miko energy is just raw and pure spiritual energy."

Then she tried not to sound disrespectful "I'm terribly sorry Tsunade-sama, but I have to be getting back to work. I still have some patients to treat. And I know that Kakashi is in good hands." Tsunade nodded "Of course. And Kagome later I want you to report to my office. I want to hear more about this miko energy of yours."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Kagome said before she turned around and left.

As she slid the door shut, her face became flushed again when she remembered that kiss with Kakashi. '_He has really soft and warm lips. I wouldn't mind kissing him again,_' she found herself thinking dreamily. Then her eyes widened in shock when she realized what she was thinking about. What was that all about? One moment she was treating him then the next she was kissing him! Why did she even kiss him? And why was it that when she kissed him she didn't want to stop?

"Am I falling for him?" she finally whispered to herself.

* * *

Thank you LuLuCrazeD, kakashixangela, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, iheartanime43, Pure Iciness, j.d.y., Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, AnimeMixDJ, Kagome Echizen Fan, Wildfury, JustCallMeWolfy, CasielGlacer, merlyn1382, Anime Wolf-234, Arfa, BuNeng-TiaoWu and .-'Kagome no kawaii,'-. for reviewing!

Now this is completely different from the original story and it's already going to be longer. I expect Kakashi and Kagome to hook up through different ways although I have no idea when.

Writing the Kakashi/Kagome bantering in this chapter made me giggle because I thought Kakashi was really cute. It's obvious they're starting to feel an attraction for each other. I was drooling all the way when I wrote him half naked because I could imagine it. Yea I know I'm a pervert but I really envy Kagome's position there.

AND FINALLY THEY KISS!!! I was squealing when I wrote this chapter because I was so excited for the kiss. Sorry if it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to.

Please review!


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